The Putamen and Caudate Nucleus Volume in Korean Youth by MRI Volumetry

Abstract

(Fig. 1D) (Table 3). 조가비핵의 경우는 남녀 모두에서 왼쪽 과 오른쪽 부피차이는 보이지 않았다 (Table 4) Abstract : Corpus striatum is subcortical nuclei composed of caudate nucleus and putamen. It has been considered to be associated with motor control and learning. Dysfunction of the striatum is related to Huntington's disease, Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. Nevertheless, standard Korean striatum volume was not set yet. Here, we report the striatum volume in healthy Korean youths. The subjects were composed of 57 youths (male, 28; female, 29). The MRI study was undertaken after a brief history taking and neurological examination. The DICOM files were imported into V-Works program. Volume models of the intracranial cavity, whole brain, caudate nucleus, and putamen were made and their volumes were calculated by the program.The average caudate volume was 7.23±1.18 cm 3 in male group and 6.23±0.96 cm 3 in female group. The average volume of putamen was 7.19±1.25 cm 3 in male group and 6.38±0.86 cm 3 in female group. Interestingly the right caudate volume is significantly larger in both group, although there is no difference in putamen volume. This study reports Korean corpus striatum volume in healthy volunteers. These results would provide an important standard reference for further study.