Journal
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
Volume 27, Issue 2, Pages 281-290Publisher
IOS PRESS
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2011-110497
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease; cortical area; cortical thickness; FreeSurfer; magnetic resonance imaging; mild cognitive impairment
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81000607]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Gray matter volume and density of several brain regions, determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are decreased in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Animal studies have indicated that changes in cortical area size is relevant to thinking and behavior, but alterations of cortical area and thickness in the brains of individuals with AD or its likely precursor, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), have not been reported. In this study, 25 MCI subjects, 30 AD subjects, and 30 age-matched normal controls were recruited for brain MRI scans and Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) assessments. Based on the model using FreeSurfer software, two brain lobes were divided into various regions according to the Desikan-Killiany atlas and the cortical area and thickness of every region was compared and analyzed. We found a significant increase in cortical area of several regions in the frontal and temporal cortices, which correlated negatively with MMSE scores, and a significant decrease in cortical area of several regions in the parietal cortex and the cingulate gyrus in AD subjects. Increased cortical area was also seen in some regions of the frontal and temporal cortices in MCI subjects, whereas the cortical thickness of the same regions was decreased. Our observations suggest characteristic differences of the cortical area and thickness in MCI, AD, and normal control subjects, and these changes may help diagnose both MCI and AD.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available