Pathoclysis in aging human cerebral cortex: Evidence from in vivo MRI morphometry

Age-related differences in the cross-sectional area and volume of selected cortical regions were examined by using in vivo magnetic resonance morphometry. In two samples—healthy volunteers and patients with negative radiological findings—similar patterns of cortical aging emerged. The size of sampled regions of association cortices correlated negatively with age, whereas no significant correlations between the size of sensory cortices and age were found. In the first but not the second sample, some of the correlations were attenuated after statistical control for skull size and sex. Overall, small but consistent trends for leftward asymmetry of the white matter and rightward asymmetry of the gray matter were observed. The results of the reported studies support the notion of selective aging of cortical association areas accompanied by relative sparing of sensory cortices.