MRI for Non-invasive Evaluation of Brain Stress

Craniosynostosis is a birth defect that causes the bones on a baby's head to fuse together earlier than normal. This causes the baby to have an abnormally shaped head. These children are operated on to prevent or treat increased pressure on the brain, allowing for normal development. There is not good evidence of which children with craniosynostosis have increased pressure on the brain. Up to twenty patients with craniofacial abnormalities will be enrolled in this pilot study. The investigators will use a magnetic resonance scanner to obtain several measures of brain metabolism. The investigators will also obtain data which are markers of developmental delay. The results will also be compared to age and gender matched data from children without craniofacial abnormalities. There study hypothesis is that patients with craniofacial abnormalities associated with intracranial pressure will have decreased metabolic activity compared to control patients.