A voxel-based morphometric study of ageing in 465 normal adult human brains

Voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) is a whole-brain, unbiased technique for char acterizing regional cerebral volume and tissue concentration differences in structural magnetic resonance images. We describe an optimized method of V BM to examine the effects of age on grey and white matter and CSF in 465 no rmal adults. Global grey matter volume decreased linearly with age, with a significantly steeper decline in males. Local areas of accelerated loss wer e observed bilaterally in the insula, superior parietal gyri, central sulci , and cingulate sulci. Areas exhibiting little or no age effect (relative p reservation) were noted in the amygdala, hippocampi, and entorhinal cortex. Global white matter did not decline with age, but local areas of relative accelerated loss and preservation were seen. There was no interaction of ag e with sex for regionally specific effects. These results corroborate previ ous reports and indicate that VBM is a useful technique for studying struct ural brain correlates of ageing through life in humans. (C) 2001 Academic P ress.