Brain volume decreases in a regional-specific way

Physiological

Data Availability

Period at which this change occurs is not accurately known

Tissue

  • brain Changes

References

  • Raz et al. (2005) "Regional brain changes in aging healthy adults: general trends, individual differences and modifiers." Cereb. Cortex 15(11):1676-1689 (PubMed)
Referencing provided by LibAge

External Links

Description

Longitudinal changes in the brain volume are not uniform suggesting a nonlinear regional brain aging. The age-related shrinkage of the brain is widespread, and its magnitude varies across regions. The caudate, the cerebellum, the hippocampus and the association cortices shrunk significantly with age. There was minimal change in the entorhinal and none in the primary visual cortex. Shrinkage of the cerebellum decreased from young to middle adulthood, and increased from middle adulthood to old age. Shrinkage of the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortices, the inferior temporal cortex and the prefrontal white matter increased with age. Shrinkage in the hippocampus and the cerebellum accelerated with age.

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