Intellect declines in healthy elderly subjects and cerebellum.
Scores of the performance scale of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) declined linearly with age from the 6th decade, whereas those of the verbal scale did not. This decrease in performance intelligence was thought to be related to an age-related frontal atrophy. The relationship between scores of the WAIS and changes in regional cortical gray matter density were examined in healthy elderly subjects using voxel-based morphometry. Thirty healthy non-demented individuals >50 years of age were tested with the WAIS and scanned with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The right neocerebellum was significantly associated with scores of the performance intelligence scale while frontal lobes were not. The current study suggests that the cerebellum may play an important role in changes of intellectual capacity in old age.
Lee
Jun-Young
JY
Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Lyoo
In Kyoon
IK
Kim
Seon-Uk
SU
Jang
Hong-Suk
HS
Lee
Dong-Woo
DW
Jeon
Hong-Jin
HJ
Park
Sang-Chul
SC
Cho
Maeng Je
MJ
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001284:Atrophy; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014888:Wechsler Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data