Analysis of Changes in Grey-White Matter Contrast in Healthy Older Adults

Jonas Swope (), Mohammad Fili (), Guiping Hu () and Auriel A. Willette ()
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Jonas Swope: Oklahoma State University, School of Industrial Engineering and Management
Mohammad Fili: Oklahoma State University, School of Industrial Engineering and Management
Guiping Hu: Oklahoma State University, School of Industrial Engineering and Management
Auriel A. Willette: Rutgers University, Department of Neurology

A chapter in AI, Society and Digital Transformation, 2026, pp 104-113 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Grey-white matter contrast (GWC) is a valuable proxy for brain health. In this study, we analyzed regional changes in GWC using structural MRI data from the UK Biobank, collected between 2006 and 2019. Leveraging the Desikan-Killiany (DK) Freesurfer brain atlas, we identified two groups: “Contrast Gainers” and “Contrast Decliners”. For each group, we computed Pearson correlations between GWC changes across brain regions and used Jennrich’s test to assess statistical differences in correlation structures. Results showed that the correlation matrices corresponding to Contrast Gainers and Contrast Decliners were substantially different. To enhance interpretability, we employed hierarchically reordered heatmaps and network diagrams. The heatmaps revealed clusters of strongly correlated brain regions in both groups, while the network diagrams highlighted similarities and differences in regional patterns. Our analysis uncovers statistically significant differences in GWC correlation patterns between Contrast Gainers and Decliners, suggesting potential applications in understanding neurodegenerative processes and brain aging.

Keywords: Cognitive aging; Correlation patterns; Grey-white matter contrast; Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-13116-4_9

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