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Cited by 118Ultrasound Imaging and ElastographyAdvanced MRI Techniques and ApplicationsAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications

High-resolution magnetic resonance elastography reveals differences in subcortical gray matter viscoelasticity between young and healthy older adults

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Hiscox, Lucy V., Johnson, Curtis L., McGarry, Matthew D.J., Perrins, Michael, Littlejohn, Aimee, van Beek, Edwin J.R., Roberts, Neil, Starr, John M.·2018·Neurobiology of Aging
DOI 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.01.010PMC PMC5883326
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Abstract

Volumetric structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used to determine the extent of neuronal loss in aging, indicated by cerebral atrophy. The brain, however, exhibits other biophysical characteristics such as mechanical properties, which can be quantified with magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). MRE is an emerging noninvasive imaging technique for measuring viscoelastic tissue properties, proven to be sensitive metrics of neural tissue integrity, as described by shear stiffness, μ and damping ratio, ξ parameters. The study objective was to evaluate global and regional MRE parameter differences between young (19-30 years, n = 12) and healthy older adults (66-73 years, n = 12) and to assess whether MRE measures provide additive value over volumetric magnetic resonance imaging measurements. We investigated the viscoelasticity of the global cerebrum and 6 regions of interest (ROIs) including the amygdala, hippocampus, caudate, pallidum, putamen, and thalamus. In older adults, we found a decrease in μ in all ROIs, except for the hippocampus, indicating widespread brain softening; an effect that remained significant after controlling for ROI volume. In contrast, the relative viscous-to-elastic behavior of the brain ξ did not differ between age groups, suggesting a preservation of the organization of the tissue microstructure. These data support the use of MRE as a novel imaging biomarker for characterizing age-related differences to neural tissue not captured by volumetric imaging alone.

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  • In healthy aging, most studies report progressive brain softening, which is associated with lower cognitive performance.

    “In healthy aging, most studies report progressive brain softening, which is associated with lower cognitive performance (Coelho & Sousa, 2022; Y. Feng et al., 2024; Hiscox et al., 2018).”

    From 40 Years of diffusion MRI in the brain: From history to emerging frontiers (2026) · cites this paper as Hiscox et al., 2018

    The Introduction (page unavailable) says previous MRE studies found brain softening with increasing age, and the Conclusions report widespread softening in this study’s older group. The Discussion (page unavailable) mentions correlations between brain viscoelasticity and cognitive measures in previous studies of young adults, but does not establish that age-related softening is associated with lower cognitive performance in healthy older adults. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Cited by

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Authors
Hiscox, L. V., Johnson, C. L., McGarry, M. D. J., Perrins, M., Littlejohn, A., van Beek, E. J. R., Roberts, N., & Starr, J. M.
Affiliations
  • Alzheimer Scotland (GB)
  • University of Delaware (US)
  • Dartmouth College (US)
  • The Queen's Medical Research Institute (GB)
Corresponding author
Hiscox, Lucy V.
ORCID
Venue
Neurobiology of Aging
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-05
Volume
65
Pages
158-167
ISSN
0197-4580 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.01.010
PMC
PMC5883326
OpenAlex
W2788272865
Cited by
118
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 5
FWCI
7.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Neurobiology of Aging (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
  • Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research
  • University of Edinburgh (MR/K026992/1)
  • Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (MR/K026992/1)
  • Directorate for Biological Sciences
  • Medical Research Council (MR/K026992/1, MC_PC_13062)
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (MR/K026992/1)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Ultrasound Imaging and Elastography
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
Keywords
magnetic resonance elastography, brain viscoelasticity, brain aging, subcortical gray matter, shear stiffness, damping ratio, cerebral softening, amygdala, hippocampus, caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen, thalamus, imaging biomarkers, brain microstructure
MeSH terms
Healthy Aging, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Elasticity, Female, Humans, Image Enhancement, Male, Organ Size, Viscosity, Cerebrum, Elasticity Imaging Techniques, Young Adult, Gray Matter

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