Differential vulnerability of hippocampal subfields and anteroposterior hippocampal subregions in healthy cognitive aging

In the present study, we investigated whether hippocampal subfields (cornu ammonis 1-3, dentate gyrus, and subiculum) and anteroposterior hippocampal subregions (head, body, and tail) follow the same trajectory with age using structural magnetic resonance imaging. We recruited 129 healthy volunteers, aged 18-85 years. Structural magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired on a 4.7T system. Hippocampal subfields and subregions were manually segmented using reliable volumetric protocols. We found that all effects of age on the hippocampal volumes were nonlinear and were mainly found in the hippocampal body, while the hippocampal head and the tail volumes were not associated with age. The total subiculum and the total dentate gyrus volumes were associated with age, while the total cornu ammonis 1-3 was not. Significant associations with age for the cornu ammonis 1-3 and the dentate gyrus volumes were present only in the hippocampal body, while the subiculum volumes were associated with age throughout the entire hippocampus. Subiculum volumes were more negatively related to age in men than in women.