Age-related changes in regional brain volume evaluated by atlas-based method.

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Brain Anatomy
• Aging Research

Background:

• Traditional methods for assessing age-related brain volume changes include voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and manual region-of-interest (ROI) tracing.
• These methods have limitations in terms of bias, coverage, and computational requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce and validate an atlas-based method for calculating absolute brain volumes.
• Provide a non-biased, semi-automatic, and whole-brain technique as an alternative to existing methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized MRI data from 115 healthy females and 130 healthy males (mean age ~37 years).
• Applied a lobar-based atlas template after spatial normalization to calculate absolute volumes of major brain regions.
• Statistically evaluated the effects of age on regional brain volumes, considering laterality and gender interactions.

Main Results:

• A linear decline in the volume of all measured regions of interest (ROIs) was observed with increasing age.
• The steepest age-related volume reduction was found in the bilateral frontal lobes.
• Analysis revealed significant effects of laterality and interactions between gender and age on brain volume.

Conclusions:

• The proposed atlas-based method offers advantages in objectivity, coverage, and efficiency over manual ROI tracing.
• Compared to VBM, the atlas-based method excels in computing absolute brain volumes.
• Findings reinforce the necessity of considering gender and age when analyzing brain disorders.