Yücel M, Stuart G W, Maruff P, Velakoulis D, Crowe S F, Savage G, Pantelis C
Applied Schizophrenia Division, Mental Health Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 3052.
Cereb Cortex. 2001 Jan;11(1):17-25. doi: 10.1093/cercor/11.1.17.
The sulci and gyri found within the anterior cingulate (AC), and across the cerebrum generally, have been found to vary in location and complexity from one individual to the next, making it difficult to analyze imaging data accurately and systematically. In this study, we examined the nature of morphometric variance in the AC of the left and right cerebral hemispheres using high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquired from 176 healthy volunteers. Depending on the presence of a paracingulate sulcus (PCS) and its antero-posterior extent, three types of AC patterns were identified: 'prominent', 'present' and 'absent'. Hemispheric comparisons across the whole sample showed the PCS to be more commonly 'prominent' in the left hemisphere and more commonly 'absent' in the right hemisphere. There was a significant gender difference, such that males showed an asymmetric pattern characterized by increased fissurization of the left AC, while females showed greater symmetry, with less fissurization of the left AC. Overall cerebral morphology, namely hemispheric volume and hemispheric fissurization, were also measured and used as independent variables as well as covariates in the analyses in order to ascertain the specificity of the results regarding AC morphology. Results showed that cerebral volume for males was larger on the right than on the left while fissurization showed the reverse asymmetry of greater leftward fissurization. In contrast, females were symmetric in both respects. The findings regarding AC morphology could not be explained by differences in these overall cerebral measures or by differences in age and handedness within the population. The results suggest that in the normal male brain, there exist morphological asymmetries at both the global and local levels that are less apparent in the female brain. The findings have implications for future studies examining the organization, development and functional anatomy of the AC.
在前扣带回（AC）以及整个大脑中发现的脑沟和脑回，其位置和复杂程度因人而异，这使得准确且系统地分析成像数据变得困难。在本研究中，我们使用从176名健康志愿者身上获取的高分辨率结构磁共振成像（MRI），研究了左右大脑半球AC形态计量学差异的本质。根据扣带旁沟（PCS）的存在及其前后范围，确定了三种类型的AC模式：“显著型”、“存在型”和“缺失型”。对整个样本进行的半球比较显示，PCS在左半球更常见为“显著型”，在右半球更常见为“缺失型”。存在显著的性别差异，男性表现出一种不对称模式，其特征是左AC的沟裂增加，而女性表现出更大的对称性，左AC的沟裂较少。还测量了总体脑形态，即半球体积和半球沟裂，并将其用作分析中的自变量和协变量，以确定关于AC形态结果的特异性。结果显示，男性的脑体积右半球大于左半球，而沟裂则呈现相反的不对称性，即左向沟裂更大。相比之下，女性在这两个方面都是对称的。关于AC形态的研究结果无法用这些总体脑测量指标的差异或人群中年龄和利手的差异来解释。结果表明，在正常男性大脑中，在整体和局部水平都存在形态不对称性，而在女性大脑中则不太明显。这些发现对未来研究AC的组织、发育和功能解剖学具有启示意义。
