Abstract
The brainstem, a small and crucial structure, is connected to the cerebrum, spinal cord, and cerebellum, playing a vital role in regulating autonomic functions, transmitting motor and sensory information, and modulating cognitive processes, emotions, and consciousness. While previous research has indicated that changes in brainstem anatomy can serve as a biomarker for aging and neurodegenerative diseases, the structural changes that occur in the brainstem during normal aging remain unclear. This study aimed to examine the age- and sex-related differences in the global and local structural measures of the brainstem in 187 healthy adults (ranging in age from 18 to 70 years) using structural magnetic resonance imaging. The findings showed a significant negative age effect on the volume of the two major components of the brainstem: the medulla oblongata and midbrain. The shape analysis revealed that atrophy primarily occurs in specific structures, such as the pyramid, cerebral peduncle, superior and inferior colliculi. Surface area and shape analysis showed a trend of flattening in the aging brainstem. There were no significant differences between the sexes or sex-by-age interactions in brainstem structural measures. These findings provide a systematic description of age associations with brainstem structures in healthy adults and may provide a reference for future research on brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
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All data included in this study are available upon request by contact with the corresponding author.
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Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31872802, 81301280), China Scholarship Council (No. 201506225068), Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of Shandong Province (No.2017CXGC1501), Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2015 M582098), Key Research Development Program of Shandong Province (2017GSF218077), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2021JCG012).
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Minqi Hu: Conceptualization, Methodology, Segmentation, Software, Data curation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. Feifei Xu: Methodology, Software, Data curation, Visualization, Writing—review & editing. Shizhou Liu: Data curation, Segmentation, Writing—original draft. Yuan Yao: Data curation, Writing- review & editing. Qing Xia: Data acquisition, Data curation, Investigation. Caiting Zhu: Data curation, Writing—original draft. Qaiser Zubair: Writing- review & editing. Xinwen Zhang: Validation, Segmentation. Haiyan Tang: Validation, Segmentation. Shuwei Liu: Data acquisition, Conceptualization, Supervision. Yuchun Tang: Data acquisition, Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition.
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Hu, M., Xu, F., Liu, S. et al. Aging pattern of the brainstem based on volumetric measurement and optimized surface shape analysis. Brain Imaging and Behavior 18, 396–411 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-023-00840-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-023-00840-z