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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology pp 386Cite as

Atrophy

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Synonyms

Degenerative; Wasting

Definition

Atrophy is a loss of cells of any tissue. In the brain, atrophy refers to a loss of neurons that may be generalized (e.g., diffuse atrophy) or focal, reflecting circumscribed regional loss. Focal atrophy may occur as a result of trauma or cerebrovascular lesions, for example. Generalized atrophy may occur with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. With atrophy, there is also corresponding loss of neural connections (synapses). Visual features of atrophy include sulcal widening, shrunken gyri, and enlarged ventricles. Atrophy may be viewed on gross inspection of the brain post-mortem or antemortem with structural imaging techniques such as MRI or CT scan. Figure 1 displays diffuse brain atrophy of the cerebral hemispheres viewed from the top.

Atrophy, Fig. 1
figure 137 figure 137

Displays diffuse atrophy of the cerebral hemispheres. Note the shrunken gyri and prominent, widened sulci (Photo courtesy of Steven S. Chin, M.D., Ph.D., University of...

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References and Readings

  • Smits, L. L., Tijms, B. M., Benedictus, M. R., Koedam, E. L. G. E., Koene, T., Reuling, I. E. W., Barkhof, F., Scheltens, P., Pijnenburg, Y. A. L., Wattjes, M. P., & van der Flier, W. M. (2014). Regional atrophy is associated with impairment in distinct cognitive domains in Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 10, S299–S305.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

    JoAnn Tschanz & Stephanie Behrens

  2. Center for Epidemiologic Studies, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

    JoAnn Tschanz

Authors
  1. JoAnn Tschanz
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  2. Stephanie Behrens
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to JoAnn Tschanz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Jeffrey S. Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation, Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Independent Practice, Wynnewood, PA, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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Tschanz, J., Behrens, S. (2018). Atrophy. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_527

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