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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

Structural brain changes in aging: courses, causes and cognitive consequences.

Anders M Fjell1, Kristine B Walhovd

  • 1Center for the Study of Human Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway. andersmf@psykologi.uio.no

Reviews in the Neurosciences
|October 1, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Healthy aging involves brain shrinkage and cognitive decline, linked to changes in brain structure, not just neuron loss. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reveals significant annual reductions in brain volume and cortical thickness.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Radiology
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Brain structure undergoes continuous change throughout life.
  • Normal aging, distinct from dementia, is characterized by observable structural brain alterations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evidence on age-related structural brain changes.
  • To correlate neuroanatomical changes with cognitive function decline in healthy aging.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies.
  • Analysis of age-related structural brain changes, including volume, cortical thickness, and subcortical morphology.

Main Results:

  • Healthy aging is associated with brain volume reduction and ventricular expansion, particularly in frontal/temporal cortex and specific subcortical regions.
  • Annual reductions in cortical thickness and subcortical volume range from 0.5% to 1.0%.
  • Brain shrinkage is attributed to neuronal shrinkage and synaptic changes, with significant reduction in myelinated axon length (up to 50%).

Conclusions:

  • Structural brain changes, including grey matter reduction and white matter alterations, underlie cognitive decline in processing speed, executive functions, and episodic memory during healthy aging.
  • Neuroanatomical differences explain a significant portion (25-100%) of cognitive function variations between young and old individuals.