title: Cortical Thickness of Native Tibetans in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
abstract: High-altitude environmental factors and genetic variants together could have exerted their effects on the human brain. The present study was designed to investigate the cerebral morphology in high-altitude native Tibetans.
  
  
  
  T1-weighted brain images were obtained from 77 Tibetan adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (altitude, 2300-5300 m) and 80 matched Han controls living at sea level. Cortical thickness, curvature, and sulcus were analyzed by using FreeSurfer.
  
  
  
  Cortical thickness was significantly decreased in the left posterior cingulate cortex, lingual gyrus, superior parietal cortex, precuneus, and rostral middle frontal cortex and the right medial orbitofrontal cortex, lateral occipital cortex, precuneus, and paracentral lobule. Curvature was significantly decreased in the left superior parietal cortex and right superior marginal gyrus; the depth of the sulcus was significantly increased in the left inferior temporal gyrus and significantly decreased in the right superior marginal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and insular cortex. Moreover, cortical thickness was negatively correlated with altitude in the left superior and middle temporal gyri, rostral middle frontal cortex, insular cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, lingual gyrus, and the right superior temporal gyrus. Curvature was positively correlated with altitude in the left rostral middle frontal cortex, insular cortex, and middle temporal gyrus. The depth of the sulcus was negatively correlated with altitude in the left lingual gyrus and right medial orbitofrontal cortex.
  
  
  
  Differences in cortical morphometry in native Tibetans may reflect adaptations related to high altitude.
authors.affiliation: From the MRI Center (W.W.), First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.|Institute of Brain Disease and Cognition (W.W., J.Z.), Medical College of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7931-2282
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology (X.W.), Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2016-9853
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Huaxi Magnetic Resonance Research Center (Q.G.), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Q
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4036-7208
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Sciences (M.F.), Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7384-5421
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Brain Disease and Cognition (W.W., J.Z.), Medical College of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China zhangjiaxing@xmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: J
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0452-1885
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000293:Adolescent; D000531:Altitude; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D018609:Tibet; D055815:Young Adult