Cortical thickness and cortical volume measurements of the cingulate gyrus in Sudanese young adult using BrainSuite

Abstract

Cingulate gyrus is a part of the limbic lobe. Anatomically and functionally, the cingulate gyrus is subdivided into four areas: the anterior cingulate cortex, midcingulate cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus, and the retrosplenial part. The variety of autonomic functions, such as regulating heart rate and blood pressure and having a major role in cognitive function, also has a function in emotional cognition. The present study aims to measure cortical thickness and cortical volume in apparently healthy young adult Sudanese. In this cross-sectional study, randomly selected individuals (30 males, 30 females) among the Sudanese population, aged between 20-40 years, and who had normal brain magnetic resonance images were included in the study. All study participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging, and measurements of the cingulate gyrus were assessed using BrainSuite software. Analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 28, and p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. For the right cingulate gyrus, the mean cortical thickness and cortical volume were 4.0 mm and 20.9 cm3, respectively. The mean cortical thickness and volume in the left cingulate gyrus were 4.0 mm and 22.3 cm3, respectively. The cortical volume of the left cingulate gyrus was statistically significantly larger than the right (p=0.04). The right and left cingulate gyrus cortical volumes of males were significantly larger than that of females (p=0.001), while the cortical thickness showed an insignificant difference (p=0.3). The cortical volume of the cingulate gyrus was not statistically related to age or body mass index. The left cingulate gyrus’s total volume is larger than that of the right cingulate gyrus, and there is no significant difference in cortical thickness. Age and body mass index do not affect cortical volume and thickness.