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Updated: Oct 13, 2026
Non-invasive Optical Measurement of Cerebral Metabolism and Hemodynamics in Infants
Published on: March 14, 2013
Difference in the metabolic response to photic stimulation of the lateral geniculate nucleus and the primary visual
T Morita1, T Kochiyama, H Yamada
1Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
Insights
Brain metabolism in infants was studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Researchers observed an oxygen metabolism signal inversion in the primary visual cortex of older infants, suggesting increased oxygen demand due to rapid synaptogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Early human brain development involves significant metabolic changes.
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood oxygen levels.
- Neuronal activation during visual stimulation requires a balance between oxygen supply and demand.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate metabolic changes in the developing human brain using fMRI.
- To examine age-related differences in brain activity responses to visual stimuli in infants.
- To correlate observed metabolic changes with known developmental processes like synaptogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on 16 sedated infants (< 1 year old).
- Administered intermittent 8-Hz flickering light stimulation to infants.
- Analyzed signal changes in the lateral geniculate nucleus and primary visual cortex, comparing infants < 60 days and > 60 days old (corrected for gestational age).
Main Results:
- A positive stimulus-related signal change was observed in the lateral geniculate nucleus across all infant age groups.
- The primary visual cortex showed a positive signal change in younger infants (< 60 days) but a negative signal change in older infants (> 60 days).
- This inversion in the primary visual cortex suggests a shift in oxygen metabolism with age.
Conclusions:
- The observed inversion of the fMRI signal in the primary visual cortex correlates with accelerated synaptogenesis in this region.
- Increased oxygen demand, driven by rapid synaptic development, likely underlies the metabolic shift observed in older infants.
- fMRI is a valuable tool for studying dynamic metabolic changes during early human brain development.
Abstract:
The metabolic change that occurs during early development of the human brain was studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in which the signal change reflects the balance between the supply and the demand of oxygen during stimulus-related neuronal activation. The subjects were 16 infants, aged < 1 year. They were sedated with pentobarbital, and 8-Hz flickering light was intermittently projected onto their eyelids. Two age groups were analyzed: infants < 60 days old and > 60 days old (corrected for gestational age at birth). The stimulus-related signal change was positive in the lateral geniculate nucleus regardless of the infants' age, but in the primary visual cortex reversed from positive in the younger group to negative in the older group. It is known that synaptogenesis in the lateral geniculate nucleus peaks before birth, and in the primary visual cortex accelerates in the second month after birth. Hence, the inversion of the stimulus-related signal change in the primary visual cortex may be due to an increased demand for oxygen owing to rapid synaptogenesis.
