Ann Clin Neurophysiol.  2017 Jul;19(2):93-100. 10.14253/acn.2017.19.2.93.

Brain morphology according to age, sex, and handedness

• Kang SJ
• Kang KA
• Jang H
• Lee JY
• Lee KI
• Kwoen MS
• Kim JS
• Park KM

• KMID: 2387229
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14253/acn.2017.19.2.93

Abstract

In this article, we review the differences of the brain morphology according to age, sex, and handedness. Age is a well-known factor affecting brain morphology. With aging, progressive reduction of brain volume is driven. Sex also has great effects on brain morphology. Although there are some reports that the differences of brain morphology may originate from the differences of weight between the 2 sexes, studies have demonstrated that there are regional differences even after the correction for weight. Handedness has long been regarded as a behavioral marker of functional asymmetry. Although there have been debates about the effect of handedness on brain morphology, previous well-established studies suggest there are differences in some regions according to handedness. Even with the studies done so far, normal brain morphology is not fully understood. Therefore, studies specific for the each ethnic group and standardized methods are needed to establish a more reliable database of healthy subjects' brain morphology.

Keyword

Brain; Magnetic resonance imaging; Demography

MeSH Terms

Aging
Brain*
Demography
Ethnic Groups
Functional Laterality*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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