A magnetic resonance image study of age-related changes in human putamen nuclei.
Putamen nuclei were assessed in 36 normal volunteers using magnetic resonance imaging and a systematic sampling method. There was a significant decrease in the volume of the putamen nuclei with advancing age (r = -0.74, p less than 0.0001), and an associated decline in the volume of the caudate nuclei (r = 0.60, p less than 0.0001). The implications of these findings in age-associated motor abnormalities are discussed.
McDonald
W M
WM
Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710.
Husain
M
M
Doraiswamy
P M
PM
Figiel
G
G
Boyko
O
O
Krishnan
K R
KR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011699:Putamen / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012016:Reference Values