The Volumetric Changes of the Pineal Gland with Age: An Atlas-based Structural Analysis.

INTRODUCTION

There are numerous reports on the facilitatory role of the pineal gland (PG) in brain function, and the size this structure is suggested to be associated with its proper functionality. Previous works which studied the volume of the PG were mostly based on manual delineation of this region. In a recent work, we developed an MRI atlas for the PG in the standard space, with one of its applications being in volumetric studies.

METHODS

In this study, using structural MRI data from 295 healthy participants in the age range of 19 to 76 years old, and using robust volumetric methods which included the above-mentioned atlas, we estimated the association of ageing with the changes of the PG volume, along with the volume of 48 other brain structures.

RESULTS

We observed a linear decline (r= -0.42) over this age range for the PG volume, which showed similarity to the ageing profile of most of the other brain structures. Also, the PG volume showed significant associations with the scores of 9 cognitive tests.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first work with an automated approach to estimate the PG volume, and could be a help to better understand the functionality of the PG in older ages.