Purpose: This study aims to investigate metabolic patterns in the brain during early

neurodevelopment.

Methods: Spectroscopic data from 35 high-quality single-voxel spectroscopy scans

performed on a total of 27 participants was processed and analyzed. These scans were

performed as part of a study to investigate eects of preterm birth on neurodevelopment

at UCSF.

Results: An increase in the N-Acetyl Aspartate/Creatine ratio and a decrease in

both Choline/Creatine and myo-Inositol/Creatine with increasing age were found to

be statistically signicant.

Conclusions: The decrease in myo-Inositol was consistent with previous ndings of a

decrease in myo-Inositol concentration from birth to 5 years of age. This decrease may

be due to myelin maturation and a reduction in cell turnover, but further investigation

is needed to evaluate this hypothesis.