Hao Huang¹, Goran Sedmak², Tina Jeon¹, Paul Yarowsky³, and Nenad Sestan^2
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States, ²Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States,³Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, United States

During brain development, the organized columnar structures in the immature cortex are disrupted by synapse formation and dendrite growth. This process can be revealed with decreased FA in the cortical plate. In this abstract, we aimed to characterize the 4D spatial and temporal FA changes all over the cortical plate and during the second trimester fetal development. The FA distribution is overall inhomogeneous across the cortical plate. Distinctive temporal changes of FA were observed at different functional cortical areas and they may serve as biomarkers of development of these functional areas.

Colleen Dockstader¹, Todd Cunningham¹, Eric Bouffet², Nicole Law¹, Normand Laperriere³, Suzanne Laughlin⁴, Douglas Strother⁵, Christopher Fryer⁶, Marie-Eve Briere⁵, Juliette Hukin⁷, Dina McConnell⁸, Fang Liu¹, Conrad Rockel⁹, and Donald Mabbott^1
1Psychology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ³Haematology/Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ⁴Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ⁵Hematology, Oncology, and Transplant Program, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, Ontario, Canada, ⁶Haematology/Oncology, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Ontario, Canada, ⁷Pediatric Neurology and Oncology/Hematology/BMT Programs, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada, ⁸Psychology, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Ontario, Canada, ⁹Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Cranial-spinal radiation (CSR) therapy for tumor treatment is associated with significant damage to the brain’s white matter. We wished to determine which regions are most affected by CSR in children treated for medulloblastomas. We compared regional values of white matter integrity in 24 healthy children and 16 patients. Regions with the lowest white matter integrity were the regions that received the highest radiation doses. This suggests that radiation directly resulted in white matter injury in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings may serve as an index of how dose gradient relates to white matter injury when considering treatment in this clinical population.

Tomoki Arichi¹, Gianlorenzo Fagiolo², Alejandro Melendez³, Nazakat Merchant¹, Nora Tusor¹, Serena J Counsell¹, Etienne Burdet³, Christian F Beckmann⁴, and A David Edwards^1
1Neonatal Medicine Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, London, London, United Kingdom, ²Imaging Physics Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, ³Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, ⁴Mathematical Imaging Neuroscience, Donders Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Using a simple somatosensory stimulus and a short-stimulus event related experimental design, we aimed to characterise the morphology of the Haemodynamic Response Function (HRF) in the newborn brain. In comparison to the canonical adult waveform, it was identified that the HRF in newborn infants has a smaller positive peak amplitude with a longer lag time to the peak, and a proportionality deeper negative undershoot period. These results are likely due to differences in neurovascular coupling and may explain the previous inconsistencies utilising the technique in the newborn population.

Elisa Scola¹, Silvia Pontesilli¹, Roberta Scotti¹, Valeria Blasi¹, Roberta Longaretti¹, Paola Scifo^1,2, Sara Cirillo¹, Antonella Iadanza¹, Antonella Poloniato³, Graziano Barera³, Giuseppe Scotti¹, and Cristina Baldoli^1
1Neuroradiology Department - CERMAC, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy, ²Department of Nuclear Medicine, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, ³Neonatology and Neonatological Intensive Care Unit, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy

Aim of this study was to asses, with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in non-sedated preterm and healthy term neonates, the maturation of cortical areas activated during linguistic passive stimulation. Twenty preterm infants, 25-33 weeks of gestational age, and 16 at term newborn subjects underwent a longitudinal 3 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. The longitudinal aspect of this study allowed the observation of the functional modifications of the auditory cortex during brain development since 29th week of EA. Moreover, results demonstrated a bilateral posterior thalamic activation in healthy term neonates not present in neonates born preterm.

Kiho Im¹, Rudolph Pienaar¹, Jong-Min Lee², Joon-Kyung Seong³, Yu Yong Choi², Kun Ho Lee⁴, and P. Ellen Grant^1
1Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, United States, ²Hanyang University, ³Soongsil University, ⁴Chosun University

We present a novel quantitative method for automatically comparing and analyzing sulcal patterns using a sulcal pit-based graph. We computed similarity between graphs by determining the optimal match using a spectral method which exploits geometric features of nodes as well as their relationships. Our method was applied to twin data and showed that the similarity of the sulcal pattern in twin pairs was significantly higher than in unrelated pairs. This method can be applied to various genetic developmental disorders, to provide a quantitative and reliable comparison of gyral folding based on sulcal anatomy.

Gareth Ball¹, Serena J Counsell¹, Ioannis S Gousias¹, Paul Aljabar², Jo V Hajnal¹, Daniel Rueckert², A David Edwards^1,3, and James P Boardman^1,4
1Imperial College London and MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, London, United Kingdom, ²Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom, ³Division of Neonatology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom, ⁴Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Tractography-based segmentation is a method for mapping structural connectivity in the brain but it is not yet feasible to perform this technique in neonates without a subjective and time-consuming process of manually labelling the cortex. Preterm birth is a leading cause of cognitive impairment in childhood, and is associated with aberrant thalamo-cortical and cortico-cortical connectivity. Using a combination of atlas-based parcellation, tissue segmentation and multi-modal imaging, we have implemented a fully-automated pipeline for tractography-based segmentation in preterm neonates. This technique provides a tool to further study the impaired connectivity thought to underlie the common neurocognitive impairment in the preterm population.

Dustin Kenneth Ragan¹, and Jose A Pineda^1
1Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) begins a series of pathological processes in its victims that can lead to long-term neurological disability. We investigated abnormal brain oxygen utilization by measuring whole-brain oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) in pediatric TBI patients using a susceptibility-based oximetry technique. Magnetic field maps were acquired two weeks after injury that were used to generated magnetic susceptibility maps. OEF was quantified through the susceptibility change in the superior sagittal sinus. Severe TBI patients suffered reduced OEF compared to both mild TBI patients (20.5% vs. 31.4%) and controls (45.7%). This implies ongoing metabolic dysfunction in trauma patients.

Ruth L O'Gorman¹, Cornelia Hagmann¹, Hadwig Speckbacher¹, Ajit Shankaranarayanan², and Ernst Martin^1
1University Children's Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland, ²Global Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States

An accurate estimate of the T1 of blood is necessary for reliable quantification of perfusion with arterial spin labelling methods. Knowledge of the blood T1 is particularly important for ASL studies in young children, where the decreased hematocrit and increased T1 relative to typical adult values may lead to an overestimate of the perfusion. Here we evaluate a fast T1 mapping protocol based on the variable flip angle, spoiled gradient echo method. This protocol was tested in a group of 8 adults and 10 children (including four neonates) and the age dependence of the blood T1 values was assessed.

Yuzheng Hu¹, Fengji Geng^1,2, Yunqi Wang^1,2, and Feiyan Chen^1
1BioX lab, Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, People's Republic of, ²Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, People's Republic of

Many studies reported the training effects on brain structures and they provided deep insight into the relationship between brain functions and the underlying neural substrates. This study aimed to examine the effects of abacus-based mental calculation training on cerebral structure in 10-years olds, using voxle-based morphometric method. Results showed increased cerebral volume in some regions such as SMA in the training group when compared with the controls. Furthermore, volumes of these regions were found to be significantly correlated with individual digit memory spans. Thus, we suggested that abacus-based calculation training may affect some brain regions related to visuospatial functions.

Jeong-Won Jeong^1,2, Ajay Kumar^1,2, Rajkumar Govindan^1,2, Harry T. Chugani^2,3, and Diane C. Chugani^2,4
1Pediatrics, Neurology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States, ²PET center, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, United States, ³Pediatrics, Neurology, Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States, ⁴Pediatrics, Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States

The dentatothalmic pathway (DTP) is a white matter pathway connecting dentate nucleus of the cerebellum to the contralateral thalamus. Many diffusion studies suggest disturbance in the intrinsic cerebellar circuitry in autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). The present study utilized Q-ball imaging (QBI) technique to delineate the DTP in children with ASD and quantitatively assess their age-related changes in axonal anisotropy and volume. We found that the age related increase in anisotropy of right DTP and volume of left DTP was significantly higher in ASD group compared to typically developing controls, suggesting microstructural abnormalities along with developmental dysregulation of DTPs in ASD.

Sean C Deoni¹, Douglas Dean¹, Cara Quigley¹, Frances Liu¹, and Beth A Jerskey^2
1School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States, ²Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Butler Hospital, Providence, RI, United States

Development of myelinated white matter is essential for normative brain function, facilitating the rapid and efficient transfer of information through the complex neural systems. While histological studies have revealed a pattern of myelination in human infancy, spreading from deep to superficial brain regions, such studies cannot investigate the underlying relationships between myelination and the development of behaviour, cognition and other functions. In this work, we combined rapid myelin water fraction imaging with assessments of primary behaviour domains in healthy human infants 4 through 24 months of age. Results reveal, for the first time, development of regions sub-serving each domain.

Revital Nossin-Manor^1,2, Omer Bar-Yosef³, Margot J Taylor^1,2, Elizabeth J Donner^3,4, and John G Sled^5,6
1Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ²Neurosciences & Mental Health, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ³Neurology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁴Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁵Physiology Experimental Medicine, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁶Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Increases in magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) and shortening of relaxometry values manifest maturational changes, which reflect distinct biological properties of tissue that need not be related. To investigate these markers of maturation we correlated MTR and T₁ measurements using scans from fifteen neonates born between 24 and 31 weeks gestational age, scanned after birth. Six structures representing different stages of myelination in the immature brain were segmented. MTR varied linearly with T₁, with similar slopes for all regions studied but significantly different intercepts. Interestingly, a different order of structures was demonstrated for MTR and T₁ values.

Hao Huang¹, Tien Nguyen², Linsley Smith³, Nancy Clegg³, and Mauricio Delgado^3
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States, ²Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Arlington, TX, United States, ³Department of Neurology, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, Dallas, TX, United States

DT-MRI is sensitive to subtle white matter structural changes which play essential roles in motor dysfunction of children with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP). The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) can be used to quantify “severity” of this disease related to motor outcome. Few studies have been conducted to survey the entire white matte to find the most sensitive white matter region which can be used for early diagnosis. Our goal is to find an effective white matter biomarker most sensitive to the severity of motor impairment of HSP for early diagnosis.

emma a Webb¹, Michelle O'Reilly², Jon Clayden², Kiran Seunarine², Tina Banks³, WK Chong³, Naomi Dale³, Alison Salt³, Mehul Dattani², and Chris A Clark^2
1Institute of Child health, london, uk, United Kingdom, ²Institute of Child health, ³Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children

Growth hormone (GH) plays an important role in normal brain development. However, its effect on brain growth and cognition in GH deficient individuals continues to be debated. We investigated a cohort of children with isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) using cognitive and motor skills assessment, volumetric MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and compared the findings with those in a cohort of children with idiopathic short stature (ISS). We report, for the first time to our knowledge, the presence of white matter abnormalities in the cortico-spinal tract and basal ganglia abnormalities, in association with deficits in cognitive function and motor performance, in children with IGHD. These findings provide evidence that the GH-IGF-1 axis plays a role in neural development.

Steven A. Messina¹, Rebecca Martin², Trisha Hay², Gerard Deib¹, E. M. Mahone^2,3, Wendy R. Kates^2,4, and Alena Horska^1
1Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Division of Neuroradiology, Johns Hopkins University College of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University College of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States

Longitudinal volumetric brain MRI analyses of patients undergoing brain radiation treatment for primary brain tumors and acute lymphoblastic leukemia demonstrate significantly decreased volumes of frontal, temporal, and parietal lobe white matter at 6 months following completion of radiation therapy when compared to age matched control subjects. Neuropsychological assessment including measures of attention, executive function, memory, language, and visual and motor skills were performed at each visit on patients and control subjects, and the subsequent intellectual and neurocognitive deficits exhibited by the patients corresponded with the resultant decreased lobar white matter volumes.

Rafael Ceschin¹, Arabhi C Nagasunder^2,3, Marvin D Nelson², Stefan Bluml^2,3, and Ashok Panigrahy^1,2
1Radiology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States, ²Radiology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ³Rudi Schulte Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States

Children with a history of prematurity and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) are susceptible to a spectrum of central visual pathway dysfunction. Our study aimed to determine whether there is preferential injury in tracts involved in central visual pathways in a cohort of children with PVL in whom we have previously demonstrated selective pulvinar microstructural abnormality. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), deterministic and probabilistic tractography demonstrate that while this cohort demonstrates widespread central white matter abnormalities, there is a preferential posterior extra-thalamic white matter injury involving the splenium and posterior thalamic radiations.

Revital Nossin-Manor^1,2, Dallas Card¹, Drew J Morris¹, Margot J Taylor^1,2, and John G Sled^3,4
1Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ²Neurosciences & Mental Health, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ³Physiology Experimental Medicine, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁴Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

MTR and DTI have been used to quantify maturation. MTR is related to myelin concentrations, whereas DTI parameters manifest restriction of water movement in tissue. We compare these modalities in very preterm neonates (<32 weeks gestational age) using voxel based analysis to propose a multi-modal approach towards a complete description of the maturation-myelination processes taking place in white and gray matter structures. Twenty-two neonates born between 27 to 31 weeks and scanned after birth were included. Voxel based linear regressions of FA against MTR values revealed different trends across brain regions separating axonal maturation into two components: order and myelination.

Nicolas Kunz¹, Hui Zhang², Kieran R O'brien³, Yaniv Assaf⁴, Daniel Alexander², François Lazeyras⁵, and Petra S Hüppi^1,6
1Division of development and growth, department of pediatrics, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ²Computer Science, University College London, United Kingdom,³Advanced Clinical Imaging Technology, CIBM-Siemens Development group, University of Lausanne, University of Geneva and EPFL, ⁴Tel Aviv University, Neurobiology department, ⁵Department of Radiology-CIBM, Geneva University Hospitals, ⁶Department of Neurology, Children’s Hospital

DTI provides a unique insight of the cellular microstructure. However, the changes reported during brain development in diffusion tensor derived parameters (e.g. FA, MD) cannot be directly transposed on physical cellular process such as the myelination stage or axonal density. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of a multi-shell q-ball acquisition in human newborns of 3 months old at 3T, and to validate the CHARMED reconstruction model in the non-myelinated brain. This study demonstrate that water experienced restricted diffusion in the CC and Cst at a b-value > 2000 s/mm² in human newborn brain.

Deanne Kim Thompson^1,2, Christopher Adamson¹, Nathan Faggian², Stephen J Wood^3,4, Gehan Roberts¹, Jeremy Lim¹, Simon K Warfield⁵, Marc Seal¹, Peter J Anderson¹, Lex W Doyle^1,6, Gary F Egan², and Terrie E Inder^1,7
1Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, ²Florey Neurosciences Institute, Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, ³Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, ⁴School of Psychiatry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom, ⁵Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States, ⁶Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, ⁷Department of Pediatrics, St Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, United States

The hippocampus is vulnerable in prematurity. Hippocampal shape alterations have been previously associated with various neurological disorders. This study is the first to examine hippocampal shape changes in very preterm infants, and to investigate shape changes in response to perinatal exposures. Hippocampi were segmented, and the SPHARM-PDM tool was utilized in 184 very preterm and 32 full-term infants. Working memory assessments were performed at 5 years. Very preterm infants showed a diffuse pattern of hippocampal shape change. Shape changes were associated with lung disease and white matter injury. Working memory performance was not associated with hippocampal shape change.

Elysa Widjaja¹, Sina Zarei Mahmoodabadi¹, O. Carter Snead¹, Abeer Almehdar¹, and Mary Lou Smith^1
1Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Rapid spread of seizure activity due to cortico-cortical connections is likely to result in alteration in cortical thickness within and beyond the frontal lobes in children with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE). We investigated the cortical thickness of children with intractable FLE. The cortical thickness of 17 children with intractable FLE, 12 left FLE and 5 right FLE, and normal MRI were compared with 26 normal controls. We have found frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital cortical thinning, in both right and left FLE patients. Frontal and extra-frontal cortical thinning may reflect the epileptogenic network in FLE.

David L Price¹, Suhdin Thayyil², Sonya Mahony¹, Alan Bainbridge¹, Frances M Cowan³, M Ayer⁴, B Guhan⁴, Neil Marlow², S Shankaran⁵, Ernest B Cady¹, and Nicola J Robertson^2
1Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London Hospital Foundation NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom, ²Institute for Womens Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ³Institute of Clinical Science, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁴Calicut Medical College, Kerala, India, ⁵School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Michigan, United States

Although therapeutic hypothermia (TH) improves neurological outcomes and reduces brain injury following asphyxial neonatal encephalopathy (NE) in high-income countries, its efficacy cannot be extrapolated to low and mid income countries because of different population co-morbidities. We assessed the effect of TH on brain tissue injury following NE using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analysed by Tract-based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) at a neonatal unit in South India. 12 infants were randomly allocated to TH and 12 to standard care. There was no significant fractional anisotropy (FA) difference between the two groups indicating a similar degree of injury to the white matter tracts.

Chenying Yang¹, Neva Corrigan², Mindy Olson³, Dennis Shaw^2,3, Stefan Posse⁴, and Stephen Dager^1
1Department of Radiology and Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States, ²Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States, ³Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States, ⁴Department of Neurology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

A novel chemical imaging method, 3-D Proton Echo Planar Spectroscopic Imaging, using high spatial resolution, short echo-time and short measurement time was applied to study infants brain development longitudinally at 6 and 12 months. The preliminary findings demonstrated the feasibility of a rapid 3D MR spectroscopic imaging protocol to evaluate metabolite changes during brain development in infants, and to further apply this approach to evaluate risk factors in abnormalities of Autism.

Emi Takahashi¹, Emiko Hayashi¹, Hannah Kinney¹, Rebecca D Folkerth², and P. Ellen Grant^1
1Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, United States, ²Brigham and Women's Hospital

Our understanding of the human cerebellum development has not advanced at the same level as our understanding of the cerebrum development, because it is especially difficult to image 3-dimensional cerebellar connectivity using diffusion tractography. Here, we applied high-angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) tractography to intact postmortem fetal cerebellums to explore the development of cerebellum pathways. Our results show the usefulness of HARDI tractography to image developing cerebellar connectivity. We observed regression of radial organization in the cerebellar cortex and the emergence of regional specificity of cerebellar peduncles that were similar to our previous observations on the development of cerebral cortex.

Andrea Righini¹, Andreana Ardemagni¹, Thomas J Re¹, Cecilia Parazzini¹, Chiara Doneda¹, Filippo Arrigoni¹, and Fabio Triulzi^1
1Radiology, Children's Hospital V. Buzzi, Milan, Italy

Very scarce imaging data are available on the cortical rim layering pattern over the first two years of life. We collected normative data on cortical ribbon appearance of maturing primary motor cortex analysing the signal profile of high spatial resolution T2-weighted images. Four patterns of cortical signal profile were detected by visual evaluation, which were confirmed by signal intensity plots; intracortical “train track like” pattern appeared to be the dominant (longer lasting) during first two years of life.

Shun Xu¹, Hongtu Zhu², Martin Styner^1,3, Wei Gao⁴, Valerie Jewells⁵, Dinggang Shen^1,4, and Weili Lin^4,6
1Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States, ²Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States, ³Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States, ⁴Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States, ⁵Neuroradiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States,⁶Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States

It is prominent to be able to determine the normal growth patterns of brain structures in healthy infants and young children. However, such information is lacking for the first year of human life. In this ongoing longitudinal study, subjects were scanned repeatedly every 3 months during the first year of age. We developed longitudinal shape statistical methods to study the growth pattern of the lateral ventricles of the brain, and obtained significant findings that the growth of lateral ventricles at different locations/regions is not uniform or congruent during the first year of life, with the frontal and caudal ends of the ventricle extend most rapidly towards the anterior and posterior directions respectively and the mid-body remains relatively constant.

Vijay Narayan Tiwari^1,2, Jeong-Won Jeong¹, Senthil K. Sundaram¹, Harry T. Chugani³, and Diane C. Chugani^4
1Pediatrics, Neurology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States, ²PET center, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, United States, ³Pediatrics, Neurology, Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States, ⁴Pediatrics, Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States

In this study, we have applied tract based spatial statistics (TBSS) to assess fractional anisotropy (FA) derived from DTI data in children with ASD with normal cognitive function (high functioning autism, HFA) or with impaired cognitive function (low functioning autism, LFA) compared to a group of typically developing children. The LFA group has more extensive involvement of cerebellum and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) as compared to the HFA group. Bilateral clusters in the region of thalamus were found in LFA group whereas bilateral parahippocampal clusters were exclusively observed in HFA group.

Jeong-Won Jeong¹, Ajay Kumar¹, Senthil K. Sundaram¹, Harry T. Chigani¹, and Diane C. Chugani^2
1Pediatrics, Neurology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States, ²Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are well known pediatric developmental disorders that are typically characterized by impaired language, reciprocal social interaction, repetitive and stereotypical behaviors. Many diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies point to both microscopic and macroscopic white matter (WM) abnormalities in children with ASD. Although these studies have showed significant changes in diffusivity of WM pathways in ASD, the localization of affected WM region seems to highly depend on several factors such as how diffusivity maps are spatially registered and how resulting maps are analyzed across subjects (voxel-based vs. skeleton-based). To abbreviate this problem in investigating the changes of WM integrity that are manifest in children with ASD, this study combined three complimentary analyses including tract-based spatial statistical analysis (TBSS, skeleton based), tissue specific smoothing compensation analysis (TSPOON, voxel based), and conventional statistical parametric mapping analysis (SPM, voxel based) .

Meritxell Bach Cuadra¹, Gabriele Bonanno¹, Laurent Guibaud², Stephan Eliez³, Jean-Philippe Thiran¹, and Marie Schaer^1,3
1Signal Processing Laboratories (LTS5), EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, ²Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, France, ³Psychiatry Department, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland

We present a preliminary quantitative morphometry analysis of the fetal brain using clinical MR imaging. Our segmentation's and reconstruction's pipeline do not use any anatomical prior from atlases, thus our method can potentially answer clinically relevant question such as the true developmental age of the fetus without being biased by its biological age.

Marinette van der Graaf^1,2, Bozena Góraj¹, Cindy P.M. Frentz¹, and Arend Heerschap^1
1Radiology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands, ²Clinical Physics Laboratory of the Dept of Pediatrics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Presently, the use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in clinical routine is still limited. We added one short single voxel PRESS measurement of white matter to the standard cerebral screening MR protocol for children performed by technicians in order (i) to obtain information on cerebral metabolite levels of the patient; (ii) to collect reference MRS data and (iii) to familiarize more technicians and radiologists with MRS. 13% of the MRS spectra obtained from 140 children showed a pathological pattern with diagnostic information. The rest of the spectra was used as reference data providing metabolite levels as a function of age.

Christian Mitter¹, Peter Christian Brugger², Laura Perju-Dumbrava³, Daniela Prayer¹, and Gregor Kasprian^1
1Department of Radiology, Division of Neuroradiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, ²Center of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, ³Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

So far the 3-dimensional morphology of major white matter association fiber tracts and their development has not been successfully visualized and characterized in the living human fetus in utero. We used DTI based tractography to depict major association fiber pathways in 8 unsedated fetuses between gestational week 20 and 34. Non motion-degraded high quality 1.5 Tesla axial diffusion tensor sequences were selected and postprocessing with tractography was performed by using a multiple ROI approach. By using tractography we were able to visualize major cortical association fiber tracts like the uncinate fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and inferior longitudinal fasciculus.

Raanan Arens¹, Michael L Lipton², Sanghun Sin¹, and Mark E Wagshul^2
1Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States, ²Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a growing public health problem affecting children and adolescents, linked to the rising prevalence of obesity in these age groups. Adequate assessment of interventions requires an understanding of the underlying pathophysiology including the precise temporal and anatomic features of upper airway obstruction. We developed a retrospectively-gated, 3D sequence to capture the dynamics of airway anatomy across the respiratory cycle. The sequence allows high-quality reconstruction of the airway from a single dynamic and multi-plane reconstruction for assessing local changes in airway anatomy over time. Real-time dynamics of airway obstruction can be studied with such a technique.

Olga Tymofiyeva¹, Christopher P Hess¹, Nan Tian¹, Donna M Ferriero^2,3, A James Barkovich^1,3, and Duan Xu^1
1Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States, ²Department of Neurology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States, ³Department of Pediatrics, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States

The characterization of the full connectivity structure of the human brain (the human "connectome") is a basic challenge in neuroscience. The purpose of this study was to establish a procedure of noninvasively mapping the structural connectivity of the newborn brain. Based on DTI imaging, a baby connectome was assembled capturing the common axonal connectivity pattern of the brain cortex across ten 6 month old babies. Network graph analysis was applied to the obtained connectivity matrix. The procedure established in this study can be applied to newborns of different age including premature babies, revealing structural maturation of the brain.

Xu Chen¹, Sonia Minnes², Miaoping Wu², John Jesberger¹, Lynn Singer^3,4, and Jean Tkach^1,5
1Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States, ²Mandel School of Applies Social Sciences, CWRU, ³Pediatrics, CWRU, ⁴Environmental Health Sciences, CWRU,⁵Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, United States

The structural effects of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) on the developing brain are not well studied, particularly with the potential confounds of the environment as well as other prenatal drug exposure. In this study, we investigated the structural gray and white matter alterations in PCE adolescence using the analysis of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) respectively. After controlling for polydrug exposure and home quality environment, anatomically related gray and white matter alterations were revealed for PCE adolescence in both the right frontal lobe and the superior parietal lobule.

Arvind Caprihan¹, Mustafa S Cetin¹, Joy Van Meter², Jean R Lowe³, and John P Phillips^2,4
1Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, ²Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, United States, ³Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, United States, ⁴Department of Neurology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, United States

We report normal developmental changes in regional brain tissue volumes in children from four to nine months of age. This is a longitudinal study where the growth of each child is individually studied. This data will be useful in mapping the trajectory of normal brain development during the child’s first year, which is usually accompanied by rapid growth. The data allows us to study the normal trajectory of brain development. The average growth in brain volume was 20% with the gray matter having the fastest growth of 34%. In the paired analysis for the longitudinal analysis the gray matter had the fastest growth in the subgenual regions (69%), and the white matter had the fastest growth in the DLPF region (29%).

Caroline Rae¹, Maree Teesson², Monique Bucci³, and Roland G Henry^3
1Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia, ²NDARC, The University of New South Wales, Australia, ³UCSF, United States

In animal studies, binge alcohol consumption has been shown to have deleterious effects. Here, we examined the effects of binge consumption on the brains of adolescents aged 16-17 yo using MRI and MRS. Binge drinkers, while not showing deleterious effects on cellular markers, did have significantly elevated frontal Glx. There was also an effect of gender on Glx levels, which correlated with depression and anxiety levels in drinkers and related to alcohol consumption.

Fang Liu¹, Frank Wang¹, Uri Tabori², Eric Bouffet², Katrin Scheinemann³, and Donald J. Mabbott^1
1Neurosciences & Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ²Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ³Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

White matter integrity following treatment for PLGG has not been examined. We investigated the differences in white matter integrity between the long-term PLGG survivors and healthy controls and specifically DTI measures of brain white matter integrity between these groups. FA was significantly lower in PLGG patients versus healthy control children in multiple areas, including bilateral occipital WM regions, corpus callosum splenium, and the brain stem. These findings provide evidence for significant white matter compromise in patients diagnosed with and treated for PLGG.

James E Siebert¹, Matthew T Latourette¹, Michael J Potchen¹, Colleen A Hammond¹, Gretchen L Birbeck², J Kevin DeMarco¹, Samuel D Kampondeni³, Karl B Seydel^3,4, and Terrie E Taylor^3,4
1Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States, ²International Neurologic & Psychiatric Epidemiology Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States,³Blantyre Malaria Project, University of Malawi, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi, ⁴Internal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States

This project investigates the potential for R2* quantitation to measure local cerebral malaria (CM) disease via R2* modulation by [hemozoin] and microhemorrhage. A 0.35T MRI scanner in Blantyre, Malawi acquired 2D GRE images at 5 TE values and R2* maps were computed. The most prevalent locations for abnormal elevated R2* values in CM patients were in the pons (100%), internal capsule (78%), and periventricular white matter (89%). R2* maps discriminated the 3 normals from 9 CM patients. These first ever CM R2* maps suggest there is a detectable R2* modulation arising from local [hemozoin] and microhemorrhage even at 0.35T.