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2-Deoxy-2[¹⁸F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography performed in human infants during development revealed progressive changes in local cerebral glucose utilization. In infants 5 weeks of age and younger, glucose utilization was highest in the sensorimotor cortex, thalamus, midbrain-brainstem, and cerebellar vermis. By 3 months, glucose metabolic activity had increased in the parietal, temporal, and occipital cortices and the basal ganglia, with subsequent increases in frontal and various association regions occurring by 8 months. These functional changes measured with positron emission tomography are in agreement with behavioral, neurophysiological, and anatomical alterations known to occur during infant development.