Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy

Madan, Christopher R.; Kensinger, Elizabeth A.

Abstract

© 2016 Elsevier Inc. The structure of the human brain changes in a variety of ways as we age. While a sizeable literature has examined age-related differences in cortical thickness, and to a lesser degree, gyrification, here we examined differences in cortical complexity, as indexed by fractal dimensionality in a sample of over 400 individuals across the adult lifespan. While prior studies have shown differences in fractal dimensionality between patient populations and age-matched, healthy controls, it is unclear how well this measure would relate to age-related cortical atrophy. Initially computing a single measure for the entire cortical ribbon, i.e., unparcellated gray matter, we found fractal dimensionality to be more sensitive to age-related differences than either cortical thickness or gyrification index. We additionally observed regional differences in age-related atrophy between the three measures, suggesting that they may index distinct differences in cortical structure. We also provide a freely available MATLAB toolbox for calculating fractal dimensionality.

Citation

Madan, C. R., & Kensinger, E. A. (2016). Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy. NeuroImage, 134, 617-629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.029

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 7, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 19, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jan 15, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 15, 2018
• Journal: NeuroImage
• Print ISSN: 1053-8119
• Electronic ISSN: 1095-9572
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 134
• Pages: 617-629
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.029
• Keywords: cortical structure; fractal dimensionality; age; atrophy; cortical thickness; gyrification
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/792118
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811916300519