title: Cortical gyrification reductions and subcortical atrophy in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms. Previous morphometric studies of PD were mainly conducted by measuring gray matter volume and cortical thickness, and little attention has been paid to the morphology of the cortical surface.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a surface-based local gyrification index (lGI), this study compared the cortical gyrification patterns of 37 PD patients and 34 matched healthy controls. Volumetric analyses also were performed on the subcortical structures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the control group, patients with PD had significantly reduced cortical gyrification in multiple brain regions, which the authors speculated were associated with disruptions in white matter connectivity and suboptimal intracortical organization. In addition, subcortical volume atrophy was identified in the bilateral hippocampus and bilateral caudate of the patients with PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further studies are needed to identify the clinical correlates of the structural abnormalities observed in PD.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuanchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jiuqun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jinping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xiu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yanling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tianzi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Parkinson's disease; cortical gyrification; intracortical organization; local gyrification index; white matter connectivity