title: Magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological testing in the spectrum of normal aging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the relationships between brain structures and function (behavior and cognition) in healthy aging.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group was composed of 56 healthy elderly subjects who underwent neuropsychological assessment and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. Cluster analysis classified the cohort into two groups, one (cluster 1) in which the magnetic resonance imaging metrics were more preserved (mean age: 66.4 years) and another (cluster 2) with less preserved markers of healthy brain tissue (mean age: 75.4 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The subjects in cluster 2 (older group) had worse indices of interference in the Stroop test compared with the subjects in cluster 1 (younger group). Therefore, a simple test such as the Stroop test could differentiate groups of younger and older subjects based on magnetic resonance imaging metrics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results are in agreement with the inhibitory control hypotheses regarding cognitive aging and may also be important in the interpretation of studies with other clinical groups, such as patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Program, Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão PretoSP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Paula
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Foss
authors.forename: Paula Rejane Beserra
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Diniz
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Formigheri
authors.forename: Carlos Ernesto Garrido
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: José Geraldo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Speciali
authors.forename: Antônio Carlos
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric