Mapping gray matter volume and cortical thickness in Alzheimer's disease

Gray matter volume and cortical thickness are two important indices widely used to detect neuropathological changes in brain structural magnetic resonance imaging. Using optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) protocol and surface-based cortical thickness measure, this study comprehensively investigated the regional changes in cortical gray matter volume and cortical thickness in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thirteen patients with AD and fourteen age-and gender-matched healthy controls were included in this study. Results showed that voxel-based gray matter volume and cortical thickness reductions were highly correlated in the temporal lobe and its medial structure in AD. Moreover significant reduced cortical regions of gray matter volume were obviously more than that of cortical thickness. These findings suggest that gray matter volume and cortical thickness, as two important imaging markers, are effective indices for detecting the neuroanatomical alterations and help us understand the neuropathology from different views in AD.