[Various patterns in structural changes in the cortex and subcortical structures of the human brain during the aging process].

The authors examined the structural organization of cortical and subcortical formations (fields 4, 6, 8, 44, 47, 39, the head of the caudate nucleus and thalamic nuclei) of the right and left hemispheres of the brain of 6 mentally normal subjects aged 30 to 90 years. In sections 20 millimicron thick and stained by Nissl's method the authors measured the density of neurons in subcortical nuclei, in layers III and V of the cortical fields, as well as the number of neurons containing lipofuscin. The identified characteristics indicate heterochronicity of the process of ageing in different portions of the brain: motor and, particularly, cortical structures are involved in this process earlier and more intensively than others.