Regional network of magnetic resonance imaging gray matter volume in healthy aging

Healthy aging has been associated with brain volume reductions preferentially affecting the frontal cortex, but also involving other regions. We used a network model of regional covariance, the Scaled Subprofile Model, with magnetic resonance imaging voxel-based morphometry to identify the regional distribution of gray matter associated with aging in 26 healthy adults, 22-77 years old. Scaled Subprofile Model analysis identified a pattern that was highly correlated with age (R-2 = 0.66, P <= 0.0001). Older age was associated with less gray matter in the bilateral frontal, temporal, thalamic, and right cerebellar regions. Gender differences suggested more advanced brain aging in the men. In this healthy adult sample, aging was associated with a regional pattern of gray matter atrophy most prominently involving the frontal and temporal cortices. Scaled Subprofile Model network analysis may aid in the detection and tracking of brain aging and in the evaluation of putative antiaging therapies.