PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Steven Miletić
AU  - Pierre-Louis Bazin
AU  - Scott J. S. Isherwood
AU  - Max C. Keuken
AU  - Anneke Alkemade
AU  - Birte U. Forstmann
TI  - Charting human subcortical maturation across the adult lifespan with <em>in vivo</em> 7 T MRI
AID  - 10.1101/2021.04.07.438765
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.04.07.438765
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/06/17/2021.04.07.438765.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/06/17/2021.04.07.438765.full
AB  - The human subcortex comprises hundreds of unique structures. Subcortical functioning is crucial for behavior, and disrupted function is observed in common neurodegenerative diseases. Despite their importance, human subcortical structures continue to be difficult to study in vivo. Here we provide a detailed account of 17 prominent subcortical structures, describing their approximate iron and myelin contents, morphometry, and their age-related changes across the normal adult lifespan. The results provide compelling insights into the heterogeneity and intricate age-related alterations of these structures. They also show that the locations of many structures shift across the lifespan, which is of direct relevance for the use of standard magnetic resonance imaging atlases. The results further our understanding of subcortical morphometry and neuroimaging properties, and of normal aging processes which ultimately can improve our understanding of neurodegeneration.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.