Normal age-related brain morphometric changes: nonuniformity across cortical thickness, surface area and gray matter volume?

Herve Lemaitre, Aaron L. Goldman, Fabio Sambataro, Beth A. Verchinski, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Daniel R. Weinberger, Venkata S. Mattay
Neurobiology of Aging. 2012-03-01; 33(3): 617.e1-617.e9
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2010.07.013

PubMed
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Normal aging is accompanied by global as well as regional structural changes.
While these age-related changes in gray matter volume have been extensively
studied, less has been done using newer morphological indexes, such as cortical
thickness and surface area. To this end, we analyzed structural images of 216
healthy volunteers, ranging from 18 to 87 years of age, using a surface-based
automated parcellation approach. Linear regressions of age revealed a concomitant
global age-related reduction in cortical thickness, surface area and volume.
Cortical thickness and volume collectively confirmed the vulnerability of the
prefrontal cortex, whereas in other cortical regions, such as in the parietal
cortex, thickness was the only measure sensitive to the pronounced age-related
atrophy. No cortical regions showed more surface area reduction than the global
average. The distinction between these morphological measures may provide
valuable information to dissect age-related structural changes of the brain, with
each of these indexes probably reflecting specific histological changes occurring
during aging.

 

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