The effect of age, sex and sport practice on the measurements of the frontal lobe of the brain

Abstract

Background: The frontal lobes make up two-thirds of the human brain, and their functions have long remained unclear. Aim of the work: measuring cortical thickness and volume in various parts of the frontal lobe in athletic football players and non-athletes, as well as age-related changes in both sexes, using high-resolution MRI. Subjects and methods: A 40 volunteers were divided into two groups: non-football players (20 each, 10 males and 10 females) and 60 non-athletes of various ages (10-20, 20-30, and 30-40) (10 participants from each gender for each group). Results: The height, weight and BMI are increased in sport male and female groups, The medial orbitofrontal, the pars orbitalis, the superior frontal and the frontal pole in the right frontal lobe in females in the sport group, the pars orbicularis and pars triangularis in the left frontal lobe is increased significantly in the sport group, The medial orbitofrontal and pars triangularis are increased significantly in the left frontal lobe in the male group aged 10-20 years, The caudal middle frontal, the medial orbitofrontal, the paracentral, the pars triangularis, the pars orbicularis and superior frontal gyrus are increased significantly in the female aged 10-20 years in the right frontal lobe while the lateral orbitofrontal and the frontal pole increased significantly in the female aged 20-30 years and medial orbitofrontal and paracentral in female aged 10-20 years in the left frontal lobe. Conclusion: age, gender and physical exercise can affect different parameters of the frontal lobe of the brain.