Age-related changes in the surface morphology of the central sulcus

Abstract

We utilized a sulcus-based computational approach to investigate the relationship between the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of the central sulcus (CS) and age. The anterior and posterior walls of the CS were manually outlined using high-resolution magnetic resonance images of 295 right-handed healthy participants (age range: 18~94years). Surface reconstruction and parameterization methods were employed to create anatomical correspondence of surface locations across participants. Four surface metrics, including average sulcal length (SL), surface area, fractal dimension (FD) and sulcal span, were used to represent the 3D morphology of the CS. We found significant age-related decreases in the surface area for all walls of the CS, the SL for posterior walls of the CS and the FD for posterior wall of right CS. Age-related increases were found in the sulcal spans between the anterior and posterior walls. These surface metrics (except FD) exhibited leftward asymmetries. Specifically, age-related changes in surface morphology progressed more rapidly in the posterior than in the anterior walls. Finally, sex differences were found only in the FD of the right anterior wall of the CS. Taken together, our results show age-related changes in the surface morphology of the CS and therefore provide insights into the normal aging process.