Morphometry in normal aging

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based evaluation of brain anatomy is regarded as a well-validated method for assessing the age-related trajectories of human regional brain volumes over the life span. Automated softwares such as FreeSurfer have enabled automated quantification of regional and even subregional volumes. Vowel-based morphometry is easily applicable with a short scanning time. Age-related volume reductions are observed in the perisylvian, pericentral, and cingulate cortex as well as the thalamic radiations, internal capsule, corpus callosum, cerebellum, and deep white matter. Hippocampal subfields show age-related volume decline prominently in CA1, the dentate gyrus, and the perirhinal cortex. Recent application of graph theory to structural connectivity has revealed significant network differences between young and old age groups, particularly in the default mode network.