AGE-RELATED DECLINE IN MRI VOLUMES OF TEMPORAL-LOBE GRAY-MATTER BUT NOT HIPPOCAMPUS

The effect of normal aging on the volume of the hippocampus and tempor al cortex was assessed cross-sectionally with quantitative Magnetic Re sonance Imaging (MRI) in 72 healthy men, spanning 5 decades of the adu lt age range (21 to 70 years). Neither the hippocampal nor cortical wh ite matter volumes were significantly correlated with age. By contrast , left and right temporal lobe gray matter volumes, exclusive of the h ippocampal measures, each decreased with age (p < 0.01). Volumes of te mporal lobe sulcal CSF and the ventricular system (temporal horns and lateral and third ventricles) significantly increased with age. Measur es of verbal and nonverbal working memory showed age-related declines and were related to enlargement of the three ventricular regions, whic h may be indicative of age-related atrophy of the adjacent cortex but not the hippocampus, at least up to age 70 years.