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Predicting memory performance in normal ageing using different measures of hippocampal size

  • Diagnostic Neuroradiology
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Abstract

A number of different methods have been employed to correct hippocampal volumes for individual variation in head size. Researchers have previously used qualitative visual inspection to gauge hippocampal atrophy. The purpose of this study was to determine the best measure(s) of hippocampal size for predicting memory functioning in 102 community-dwelling individuals over 80 years of age. Hippocampal size was estimated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumetry and qualitative visual assessment. Right and left hippocampal volumes were adjusted by three different estimates of head size: total intracranial volume (TICV), whole-brain volume including ventricles (WB+V) and a more refined measure of whole-brain volume with ventricles extracted (WB). We compared the relative efficacy of these three volumetric adjustment methods and visual ratings of hippocampal size in predicting memory performance using linear regression. All four measures of hippocampal size were significant predictors of memory performance. TICV-adjusted volumes performed most poorly in accounting for variance in memory scores. Hippocampal volumes adjusted by either measure of whole-brain volume performed equally well, although qualitative visual ratings of the hippocampus were at least as effective as the volumetric measures in predicting memory performance in community-dwelling individuals in the ninth or tenth decade of life.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Simon Vogrin and Mark Cook for their expertise and assistance with the technical aspects of the hippocampal tracing protocol. We also thank Jo Millar for her contribution to neuropsychological data collection. This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, an Infrastructure Stream C grant from the New South Wales Department of Health, Australia and by the Ageing and Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Education and Research on Ageing, The University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    T. C. Lye, H. Creasey, O. Piguet & J. J. Kril

  2. School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    D. A. Grayson

  3. Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute and the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    O. Piguet, H. P. Bennett & G. A. Broe

  4. Department of Radiology, Concord Hospital, Sydney, Australia

    L. J. Ridley

  5. Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, Australia

    G. A. Broe

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  1. T. C. Lye
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  2. D. A. Grayson
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  3. H. Creasey
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  4. O. Piguet
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Correspondence to T. C. Lye.

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Lye, T.C., Grayson, D.A., Creasey, H. et al. Predicting memory performance in normal ageing using different measures of hippocampal size. Neuroradiology 48, 90–99 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-005-0032-5

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