Age-related Changes In Cortical And Subcortical Structures Of Healthy Adult Brains:Based On Morphometry Study

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationships between age and cerebral structures in normal adults,we used the surface-based morphometry(SBM)method on the T1-weighted images data.The cortical structures of human brain in both cortical and subcortical regions change in many ways with increasing age.Materials and MethodCortical thickness,volume and surface area,local gyrification index(LGI),the volume of total gray matter(GM),white matter(WM),white matter hyperintensity(WMH),seven deep gray matter nuclei(putamen,pallidum,thalamus,caudate,amygdala,accumbens area,and hippocampus),ventricles(lateral ventricle,inferior lateral ventricle,third ventricle,and fourth ventricle)and subfields of hippocampus,amygdala and thalamus were obtained using Free Surfer software.Then regression analysis was performed for relationships between age and cerebral structures.Uncorrected P values ≤ 0.001 were considered significant in this study.ResultsThe cortical thickness,volume and LGI decreased with aging throughout almost all brain regions,especially in the frontal lobe(P ≤ 0.001).However,cortical surface area just decreased with aging in supramarginal.With the exception of the WM volume and the 4th ventricle,the volume of total GM,WMH,lateral ventricle,inferior lateral ventricle,and3 rd ventricle showed a nonlinear correction with aging(P ≤ 0.001).For deep gray matter nuclei,the thalamus volume significantly decreased with increasing age,mainly in mediodorsal medial magnocellular(MDm),mediodarsal lateral parvocellular(MDl),lateral geniculate(LGN),pulvinar anterior(Pu A),pulvinar medial(Pu M)(P < 0.001).And the hippocampus volume increased at first and then decreased,mainly in fissure,cornus ammonis(CA)2/3,CA4,and GC-DG(granule cell layer of dentate gyrus)(P ≤ 0.001).The volume of other deep gray matter nuclei showed no significance with aging(P > 0.001).ConclusionThe results comprehensively show the relationships between age and cerebral structures in multiple brain regions.Furthermore,hippocampus,amygdala and thalamus were segmented into several nuclei using advanced methods.The volume changes of these subfields indicate stronger correlation with aging.These findings may help identify normal aging and other age-related neuroradiological disorders.