Characterising the lifespan trajectory of six essential neurometabolites in a cohort of 100 participants.

We characterised the normative lifespan trajectories of brain neurometabolites, as measured by 1H-Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) from the posterior parietal cortex across 100 individuals (aged 5-40 yrs). Glutamate + glutamine (Glx), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA+) and glutathione (GSH) showed non-linear trajectories, decreasing steeply in childhood/adolescence before a gradual, significant, decline across early adulthood. Results suggest age associated changes in brain composition may contribute to the observed trajectories. Importantly, a non-linear regression modelling approach was found to be more appropriate for neurometabolite trajectories than a linear regression model and should be considered in future to prevent simplification of data trends.