Aging in the CNS: Comparison of gray/white matter volume and diffusion tensor data

Abe, Osamu; Yamasue, Hidenori; Aoki, Shigeki; Suga, Motomu; Yamada, Haruyasu; Kasai, Kiyoto; Masutani, Yoshitaka; Kato, Nobuyuki; Kato, Nobumasa; Ohtomo, Kuni

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.09.003

« Previous Next »Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 29, Issue 1 , Pages 102-116, January 2008

Aging in the CNS: Comparison of gray/white matter volume and diffusion tensor data

Osamu Abe
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 3 5800 8666; fax: +81 3 5800 8935.
Hidenori Yamasue
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Shigeki Aoki
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Motomu Suga
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Haruyasu Yamada
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Kiyoto Kasai
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Yoshitaka Masutani
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Nobuyuki Kato
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Nobumasa Kato
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Kuni Ohtomo
- Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan

Received 30 November 2005; received in revised form 9 August 2006; accepted 4 September 2006. published online 06 October 2006.

Abstract

This study investigated the global and regional effects of aging on brain volume, mean diffusivity (MD), and fractional anisotropy (FA) in 73 normal female subjects using voxel-based analysis. On a global scale, gray matter volume and FA were negatively correlated, whereas MD was positively correlated with age. Voxel-wise analyses showed brain volume and FA were negatively correlated predominantly in anterior structures, whereas MD was positively correlated in the cortical gray matter and periventricular white matter. Volume preservation was observed in the cingulate gyrus and subjacent white matter. FA increase was observed in the putamen. Voxel-based direct comparisons of volume and diffusion properties showed FA was more strongly negatively correlated in the fronto-temporal white matter, compared with volume and MD. Stronger positive correlation of MD was observed in the thalamus, caudate nucleus, and midbrain and stronger negative correlation of brain volume was observed in the frontal lobe and basal ganglia, compared with the other. These results indicate that diffusion properties and brain volume are complementary markers to the effects of aging.

Keywords: Aging, Central nervous system, Diffusion tensor imaging, Magnetic resonance imaging, Voxel-based morphometry