Developmental instability and working memory ability in children: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy investigation

This study of children (ages 7 through 12) wishes to determine (a) whether variation in frontal lobe brain chemistry, determined from proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS), is related to performance on a working memory task in children, and (b) whether developmental instability (DI; the imprecise expression of the genetic plan for development due to several known genetic and environmental effects) underlies phenotypic variation in brain chemistry. 1H-MRS assessed neurometabolites in a right frontal white matter voxel. The Visual Two-Back test assessed working memory. A composite measure of DI was created from measures of minor physical anomalies, fluctuating asymmetry of body characteristics, and fluctuating asymmetry of dermatoglyphic features. Greater DI strongly predicted lower concentrations of creatine-phosphocreatine (Cre) and choline-containing compounds, whereas Cre and N-acetyl-aspartate positively correlated with working memory skills. Working memory skills thus seem related to frontal lobe energy metabolism, which in turn is related to DI.