Voxel-Based Morphometric Investigations in Basal Ganglia Diseases: Structural Changes and Function

By use of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) as a whole brain-based observer-independent technique to map local signal changes in the brain, it is possible to analyze patterns of structural alterations in neurological disorders at the group level. Investigations are presented in two different basal ganglia diseases, Huntington's disease (HD) and unilateral tremor-dominant idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPDt). 3-D MRI data of IPDt patients (n=10) and HD patients (n=44), respectively, were studied by VBM in comparison to age-matched healthy controls. In IPDt, regional changes of gray matter density were found in thala…