A brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of the corpus callosum in
36 normal volunteers, ages 26-79 years, revealed that age was positively
correlated with the T1 spin-lattice relaxation time of the corpus callosum
and was negatively correlated with the corpus callosum cross-sectional
area. T1 relaxation times are sensitive to the content and macromolecular
environment of tissue water, and variations in callosal T1 may reflect
differences in the content or relaxation properties of callosal water. Such
changes also potentially could occur secondary to alterations in the
composition of callosal myelin. This study confirms and extends prior
morphological studies that have reported age-related dimensional changes in
the corpus callosum and, in addition, provides evidence of age-related
biophysical tissue differences in the human corpus callosum.Abstract Teaser