Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy
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...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49068/ |
| _version_ | 1848797914416021504 |
|---|---|
| author | Madan, Christopher R. Kensinger, Elizabeth A. |
| author_facet | Madan, Christopher R. Kensinger, Elizabeth A. |
| author_sort | Madan, Christopher R. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:11:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-49068 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:11:27Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-490682020-05-04T17:53:53Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49068/ Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy Madan, Christopher R. Kensinger, Elizabeth A. 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. Elsevier 2016-07-01 Article PeerReviewed Madan, Christopher R. and Kensinger, Elizabeth A. (2016) Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy. NeuroImage, 134 . pp. 617-629. ISSN 1095-9572 cortical structure; fractal dimensionality; age; atrophy; cortical thickness; gyrification http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811916300519 doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.029 doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.029 |
| spellingShingle | cortical structure; fractal dimensionality; age; atrophy; cortical thickness; gyrification Madan, Christopher R. Kensinger, Elizabeth A. Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy |
| title | Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy |
| title_full | Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy |
| title_fullStr | Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy |
| title_short | Cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy |
| title_sort | cortical complexity as a measure of age-related brain atrophy |
| topic | cortical structure; fractal dimensionality; age; atrophy; cortical thickness; gyrification |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49068/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49068/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49068/ |