Assessing age-related gray matter decline with voxel-based morphometry depends significantly on segmentation and normalization procedures

Knowing the patterns of brain differences with age in the young population could lead to a better understanding of the causes of certain psychiatric disorders; however, relevant information is insufficient. Here, a pattern of regional gray matter (GM) that changed with age in a young cohort aged 20–30 years was provided. Extending from previous age studies, all participants were imaged at both 1.5 T and 3 T to address the question of how far the field strength influences results. Fifty-nine young participants aged 20–30 years were scanned at both 1.5 T and 3 T. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to estimate the GM volume. Some brain regions showed a significant field strength-dependent difference in GM volume. VBM uncovered a significantly age-related increase in the GM volume in the left visual-associated area at 3 T, which was not detected at 1.5 T. In addition, voxels at 1.5 T that revealed a significant age-related reduction in the GM volume were found in the right cerebellum. In conclusion, age-related differences in human brain morphology could even be detected in a young cohort aged 20–30 years; however, the results varied across field strengths. Thus, field strength should be considered an important factor when comparing age-specific brain differences across studies.

Download Full-text

Location, location, location– choice of Voxel-Based Morphometry processing pipeline drives variability in the location of neuroanatomical brain markers

10.1101/2021.03.09.434531 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xinqi Zhou ◽

Renjing Wu ◽

Yixu Zeng ◽

Ziyu Qi ◽

Stefania Ferraro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gray Matter ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Voxel Based Morphometry ◽

Clinical Neuroscience ◽

Age Related ◽

Large Brain ◽

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽

Computational Analyses ◽

Gray Matter Volumes

AbstractFundamental and clinical neuroscience has benefited from the development of automated computational analyses of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data, such as Voxel-based Morphometry (VBM). VBM determines regional gray matter variations with high spatial resolution and results are commonly interpreted in a regional-specific manner, for instance with respect to which specific brain regions differ in volume between women and men. In excess of 600 papers using VBM are now published every year and a number of different automated VBM processing pipelines are frequently used in analyses although it remains to be fully and systematically assessed whether they come up with the same answers. Here we have therefore examined variability between four commonly used VBM pipelines in two large brain structural datasets. Spatial similarity, reproducibility and reliability of the processed gray matter brain maps was generally low between pipelines. Examination of sex-differences and age-related changes in gray matter volumes revealed considerable differences between the pipelines in terms of the specific regions identified as well as meta-analytic characterization of their function. In contrast, applying machine learning-based multivariate analyses allowed an accurate prediction of sex or age based on the gray matter maps across pipelines, although prediction accuracy differed strongly between them. Together the findings suggest that the choice of pipeline alone leads to considerable variability in brain structural analyses which poses a serious challenge for reproducibility as well as interpretation.

Download Full-text

Regional Gray Matter Abnormalities in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Yearbook of Psychiatry and Applied Mental Health ◽

10.1016/s0084-3970(08)70583-8 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 2007 ◽

pp. 283

Author(s):

P.F. Buckley

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Voxel Based Morphometry ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder

Download Full-text

Increased Gray Matter Density in the Parietal Cortex of Mathematicians: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Yearbook of Neurology and Neurosurgery ◽

10.1016/s0513-5117(08)79083-5 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 2008 ◽

pp. 144

Author(s):

A. Verma

Keyword(s):

Parietal Cortex ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Matter Density ◽

Voxel Based Morphometry ◽

Gray Matter Density

Download Full-text

Age-related changes of cerebral white and grey matter structures from childhood to adulthood using voxel-based morphometry

Neuropediatrics ◽

10.1055/s-2005-867982 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 36 (02) ◽

Author(s):

S Groeschel ◽

B Vollmer ◽

A Connelly

Keyword(s):

Grey Matter ◽

Voxel Based Morphometry ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Changes

Download Full-text

Reproducibility of Brain Volume Changes in Longitudinal Voxel-Based Morphometry Between Non-Accelerated and Accelerated Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-210596 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Hidemasa Takao ◽

Shiori Amemiya ◽

Osamu Abe ◽

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Elderly Subjects ◽

Voxel Based Morphometry ◽

Volume Changes ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Healthy Elderly

Background: Scan acceleration techniques, such as parallel imaging, can reduce scan times, but reliability is essential to implement these techniques in neuroimaging. Objective: To evaluate the reproducibility of the longitudinal changes in brain morphology determined by longitudinal voxel-based morphometry (VBM) between non-accelerated and accelerated magnetic resonance images (MRI) in normal aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Using data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) 2 database, comprising subjects who underwent non-accelerated and accelerated structural T1-weighted MRI at screening and at a 2-year follow-up on 3.0 T Philips scanners, we examined the reproducibility of longitudinal gray matter volume changes determined by longitudinal VBM processing between non-accelerated and accelerated imaging in 50 healthy elderly subjects, 54 MCI patients, and eight AD patients. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) maps differed among the three groups. The mean ICC was 0.72 overall (healthy elderly, 0.63; MCI, 0.75; AD, 0.63), and the ICC was good to excellent (0.6–1.0) for 81.4%of voxels (healthy elderly, 64.8%; MCI, 85.0%; AD, 65.0%). The differences in image quality (head motion) were not significant (Kruskal–Wallis test, p = 0.18) and the within-subject standard deviations of longitudinal gray matter volume changes were similar among the groups. Conclusion: The results indicate that the reproducibility of longitudinal gray matter volume changes determined by VBM between non-accelerated and accelerated MRI is good to excellent for many regions but may vary between diseases and regions.

Download Full-text