title: [The shrinking brain: result of normal aging or of selection bias in research?].
abstract: The volume of our brain decreases as we age. This has been demonstrated by several large studies on normal aging. A recent study indicates, however, that the extent of this decline in normal aging probably has been overestimated because these studies have included subjects with preclinical disorders. In this article, an example from science is used to describe what effect selection bias may have on our model of the aging brain.
authors.affiliation: Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, Afd. Psychiatrie & Neuropsychologie, Universiteit Maastricht. s.burgmans@maastrichtuniversity.nl
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burgmans
authors.forename: M P J
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: van Boxtel
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D015983:Selection Bias