Volumetric Measurements of the Subcortical Structures of Healthy Adult Brains in the Turkish Population

Abstract

Background: The interest in the morphological development of brain structures during childhood and adolescence arises from discussions on subcortical anomalies and sexual dimorphism, from adolescent changes in cognitive functions supported by cortical and subcortical structures to a wide range of childhood neuropsychiatric diseases. This study aims to investigate the relationships subcortical structures regarding age/gender changes in the healthy adult human brain using web-based VolBrain.

Materials and methods: In this study, 303 normal healthy adults [male and female] were obtained using a 1.5 T unit with a 20-channel head coil.

Results: The volumes of White Matter, Gray Matter, Total Brain, Cerebrospinal Fluid, and Total Intracranial Volume were significantly higher in males than those in females. Our analysis revealed a significantly larger accumbens volume for females. With age less than or equal to 50 years, older males were found to have higher total LV, putamen, thalamus, amygdala, cerebrum, White Matter and Gray Matter volumes than females. The age greater than the 50-years-old group resulted in a mean of total thalamus, Globus Pallidus and accumbens volumes higher in females than those in males. Right hemisphere volumes in younger and older age groups resulted in volumes except caudate in the older age group; the mean of caudate was significantly higher in females than those in males.

Conclusions: These conclusions might have important for the explanation of the effects of gender and age in cross-sectional structural MRI studies. Also, knowing the volume changes of the subcortical structures can provide convenience about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various neuromental disorders.