Microstructural white matter changes in normal aging: a diffusion tensor imaging study with higher-order polynomial regression models

Neuroimage. 2010 Jan 1;49(1):32-43. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.08.031. Epub 2009 Aug 21.

Abstract

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has already proven to be a valuable tool when investigating both global and regional microstructural white matter (WM) brain changes in the human aging process. Although subject to many criticisms, voxel-based analysis is currently one of the most common and preferred approaches in such DTI aging studies. In this context, voxel-based DTI analyses have assumed a 'linear' correlation when finding the significant brain regions that relate age with a particular diffusion measure of interest. Recent literature, however, has clearly demonstrated 'non-linear' relationships between age and diffusion metrics by using region-of-interest and tractography-based approaches. In this work, we incorporated polynomial regression models in the voxel-based DTI analysis framework to assess age-related changes in WM diffusion properties (fractional anisotropy and axial, transverse, and mean diffusivity) in a large cohort of 346 subjects (25 to 81 years old). Our novel approach clearly demonstrates that voxel-based DTI analyses can greatly benefit from incorporating higher-order regression models when investigating potential relationships between aging and diffusion properties.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aging / physiology*
  • Algorithms
  • Brain / ultrastructure*
  • Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Models, Statistical
  • Regression Analysis