title: Medial temporal MR spectroscopy is related to memory performance in normal adolescent subjects.
abstract: In addition to the study of pathological conditions, magnetic resonance spectroscopy can provide useful information about brain-behavior relationships in normal subjects. Recently, there have been reports of correlations between N-acetylaspartate (NAA) values and cognitive functions in normal adults. We tested the possible specific relationship between the NAA/choline (Cho) ratio in the medial temporal lobe and memory performance in normal adolescents. The medial temporal NAA/Cho ratio was unrelated to age, gender and general intelligence but presented a clear correlation with several memory measures. In the regression analysis two memory variables (RAVLT learning and a face-name recognition task) explained 55.6% of NAA/Cho variance. We conclude that NAA values in the medial temporal lobe are related to memory abilities but not to global intelligence in normal adolescent subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giménez
authors.forename: Carme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Junqué
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Narberhaus
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Caldú
authors.forename: Dolors
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Segarra
authors.forename: Pere
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vendrell
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bargalló
authors.forename: Josep M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mercader
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D002794:Choline