Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Brain Cogn. 2011 Mar;75(2):170-6. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2010.11.008. Epub 2010 Dec 4.
This study applied volumetric analysis and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of brain magnetic resonance (MR) images to assess whether correlations exist between global and regional gray/white matter volume and the cognitive functions of semantic memory and short-term memory, which are relatively well preserved with aging, using MR image data from 109 community-dwelling healthy elderly individuals. We used the Information and Digit Span subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligent Scale-Revised as measures of semantic memory and short-term memory, respectively. We found significant positive correlations between the gray matter ratio, the percentage of gray matter volume in the intracranial volume, and performance on the Digit Span subtest, and between the regional gray matter volumes of the bilateral anterior temporal lobes and performance on the Information subtest. No significant correlations between performance on the cognitive tests and white matter volume were found. Our results suggest that individual variability in specific cognitive functions that are relatively well preserved with aging is accounted for by the variability of gray matter volume in healthy elderly subjects.
本研究应用脑磁共振（MR）图像的容积分析和基于体素的形态测量学（VBM），评估了 109 名社区居住的健康老年人的 MR 图像数据，是否存在全脑和局部灰质/白质体积与语义记忆和短期记忆等认知功能之间的相关性，这些认知功能在衰老过程中相对保持完好。我们分别使用韦氏成人智力量表修订版的信息和数字跨度子测试来衡量语义记忆和短期记忆。我们发现灰质比率、脑内灰质体积百分比与数字跨度子测试成绩之间，以及双侧前颞叶的局部灰质体积与信息子测试成绩之间存在显著正相关。在认知测试成绩与白质体积之间未发现显著相关性。我们的研究结果表明，在健康老年人中，特定认知功能的个体变异性可以用灰质体积的变异性来解释，这些认知功能在衰老过程中相对保持完好。
