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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans

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Published on: December 18, 2016

Aging does not affect gray matter asymmetry.

Floortje Smeets¹, Eric F P M Vuurman, Martin P J van Boxtel

¹Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division 1: Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. floortje.smeets@np.unimaas.nl

Psychology and Aging

|September 22, 2010

Summary

Cortical gray matter asymmetry does not change with age or cognitive decline in adults aged 52-84. This suggests that gray matter asymmetry is not a factor in healthy brain aging or dementia development.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Aging Research
Neuroimaging

Background:

Previous studies indicate reduced brain activity asymmetry in older adults.
The relationship between gray matter asymmetry and aging is not well understood.
Cognitive decline and dementia may be linked to brain structural changes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate age-related differences in cortical gray matter asymmetry.
To compare gray matter asymmetry between cognitively stable individuals and those with cognitive decline.
To assess the influence of prodromal dementia on gray matter asymmetry findings.

Main Methods:

T1-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans were used.
Gray matter volumes of seven prefrontal and temporal regions were analyzed.
Data from 70 adults aged 52-84 years were statistically analyzed, with and without individuals who later developed dementia.

Main Results:

No significant differences in gray matter asymmetry were observed across the 52-84 age range.
Excluding participants who developed dementia did not alter the findings on asymmetry.
No gray matter asymmetry differences were found between cognitively stable and cognitively declining groups.

Conclusions:

Cortical gray matter asymmetry does not appear to change with healthy aging.
Gray matter asymmetry differences are not associated with cognitive decline or dementia onset.
Alterations in gray matter asymmetry are unlikely to be a component of the normal aging process.