MRI study on morphological changes of adult cerebral cortex in aging
Xia Xinjian1,2, Tang Yuchun3, Lin Xiangtao1, Zhang Zhonghe1, Sun Bo4, Yu Qiaowen1, Liu Shuwei3, Hou Zhongyu1
1Department of Medical Imaging, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated with Shandong University, Jinan 250021, China; 2Shouguang People's Hospital CT-MRI Room, Shouguang 262700,China; 3Research Center of Tomographic Anatomy, Shandong University, Jinan 250021, China; 4Shandong Institute of Medical Imaging, Jinan 250021, China
Abstract：Objective To explore the regional and lateral differences of adult cerebral cortex volume, thickness and surface area during normal aging by MRI.Methods The prospective study was conducted. From September 2017 to January 2018, 109 healthy adult volunteers of right-handed Han nationality were recruited, including 56 males and 53 females, average age (53.13±15.61) years (aged 18-85 years). The original data of 3.0 T MRI were obtained and analyzed with FreeSurfer software to obtain the interesting areas of left and right hemispheres and lobes. The specific values of the volume, including thickness and surface area of the regional cerebral cortex were studied to explore the correlation with age, the regional and lateral differences of cerebral cortex aging.Results Linear regression analysis showed age-related decreases in global cortical volume, thickness and surface area (P＜0.01). The largest age-related decreases in cortical volume were in the middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal angular gyrus, lingual gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus(the largest was -0.653% per year, P＜0.01). The areas with the greatest decrease in cortical thickness were the middle frontal gyrus, the frontal gyrus of outer orbit, the inferior parietal angular gyrus, the superior temporal gyrus, the temporal pole, the parahippocampal gyrus and the posterior cingulate gyrus(the largest was -0.009 mm per year, P＜0.01). The areas with the greatest decrease in cortical surface area were mainly in the middle frontal gyrus, the infra-frontal gyrus, the lingual gyrus, the inferior temporal gyrus and the parahippocampal gyrus (the largest was -0.40% per year, P＜0.01). The asymmetric regions of cortical volume-age effect in the left and right hemispheres were superior frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus and triangle, middle orbital frontal gyrus, frontal pole, inferior parietal marginal angular gyrus, superior marginal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, temporal pole, parahippocampal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus and entorhinal cortex(P＜0.05). The asymmetric regions of age effect of cortical thickness were superior frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, middle orbital frontal gyrus, cuneate lobe, inferior temporal gyrus, temporal pole, anterior cingulate gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus (P＜0.05). The asymmetric regions of age effect of cortical surface area were superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, trigone, frontal pole, inferior parietal angular gyrus, superior marginal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, temporal pole, parahippocampal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus and entorhinal cortex (P＜0.05).Conclusions In normal aging process of human brain, the volume, thickness and surface area of cerebral cortex show linear negative correlations with age. Aging has different effects in cortical regions. The age effect of partial gyri is lateralized. Three morphological indexes of cortical volume, thickness and surface area are interrelated.
夏新建, 汤煜春, 林祥涛, 张忠和, 孙博, 于乔文, 刘树伟, 侯中煜. 成人大脑皮质老化形态学改变的MRI研究[J]. 中华解剖与临床杂志, 2019, 24(3): 250-256.
Xia Xinjian, Tang Yuchun, Lin Xiangtao, Zhang Zhonghe, Sun Bo, Yu Qiaowen, Liu Shuwei, Hou Zhongyu. MRI study on morphological changes of adult cerebral cortex in aging. Chinese Journal of Anatomy and Clinics, 2019, 24(3): 250-256.
Zheng F, Liu Y, Yuan Z, et al. Age-related changes in cortical and subcortical structures of healthy adult brains: a surface-based morphometry study[J]. J Magn Reson Imaging, 2019, 49(1): 152-163. DOI:10.1002/jmri.26037.
[2]
Mazgaj P, Drzazga Z, Karpiel I, et al. Use of MRI to measure whole brain atrophy in MS patients[J]. Acta Phys Pol A, 2018, 133(3): 725-727. DOI:10.12693/aphyspola.133.725.
[3]
Farokhian F, Yang C, Beheshti I, et al. Age-related gray and white matter changes in normal adult brains[J]. Aging Dis, 2017, 8(6): 899-909. DOI:10.14336/AD.2017.0502.
[4]
Király A, Szabó N, Tóth E, et al. Male brain ages faster: The age and gender dependence of subcortical volumes[J]. Brain Imaging Behav, 2016, 10(3): 901-910. DOI:10.1007/s11682-015-9468-3.
[5]
Tisserand DJ, Pruessner JC, Sanz Arigita EJ, et al. Regional frontal cortical volumes decrease differentially in aging: an MRI study to compare volumetric approaches and voxel-based morphometry[J]. Neuroimage, 2002, 17(2): 657-669. DOI:10.1006/nimg.2002.1173.
[6]
Gracien RM, Nürnberger L, Hok P, et al. Evaluation of brain ageing: a quantitative longitudinal MRI study over 7 years[J]. Eur Radiol, 2017, 27(4): 1568-1576. DOI:10.1007/s00330-016-4485-1.
Ziegler DA, Piguet O, Salat DH, et al. Cognition in healthy aging is related to regional white matter integrity, but not cortical thickness[J]. Neurobiol Aging, 2010, 31(11): 1912-1926. DOI:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.10.015.
[13]
Lemaitre H, Goldman AL, Sambataro F, et al. Normal age-related brain morphometric changes: nonuniformity across cortical thickness, surface area and gray matter volume?[J]. Neurobiology of Aging, 2012, 33: 617e1-617e9. DOI:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2010.07.013.
[14]
Schnack HG, van Haren NE, Brouwer RM, et al. Changes in thickness and surface area of the human cortex and their relationship with intelligence[J]. Cereb Cortex, 2015, 25(6): 1608-1617. DOI:10.1093/cercor/bht357.
[15]
Rettmann ME, Kraut MA, Prince JL, et al. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of anatomical sulcal changes associated with aging[J]. Cereb Cortex, 2006, 16(11): 1584-1594. DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhj095.
Zeki Al Hazzouri A, Caunca MR, Nobrega JC, et al. Greater depressive symptoms, cognition, and markers of brain aging : Northern Manhattan Study[J]. Neurology, 2018, 90(23): e2077-e2085. DOI:10.1212/wnl.0000000000005639.
[20]
Dickerson BC, Feczko E, Augustinack JC, et al. Differential effects of aging and Alzheimer's disease on medial temporal lobe cortical thickness and surface area[J]. Neurobiol Aging, 2009, 30(3): 432-440. DOI:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.07.022.
2019, Vol. 24 
