ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Health and Clinical Neuroscience
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disease Research: Focus on Innovative Human-Relevant Brain ResearchView all 9 articles
AI-Assisted MRI Segmentation Analysis of Brain Region Volume Alterations in Parkinson's Disease
Provisionally accepted
- 1China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University Department of Radiology, Changchun, China
- 2Department of Neurology, Dongying People's Hospital, Shandong, China
- 3Department of Neurology, Yuncheng People's Hospital, Shandong, China
- 4China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University Department of Neurology, Changchun, China
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ABSTRACT Objective By employing deep learning-based automatic whole-brain region segmentation technology, we aim to investigate the cross-sectional associations between regional brain volumes and disease duration in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods A retrospective study design was implemented on 83 patients diagnosed with idiopathic PD who had complete clinical and imaging data. Cranial magnetic resonance images (MRI) were imported into the uAI platform for automated regional segmentation of brain tissue. Volumetric data from five major brain regions and 80 subregions were extracted to explore their potential associations with disease progression in PD patients. Statistical analysis was conducted using a multiple linear regression model within the framework of linear regression analysis, with statistical significance defined as p < 0.05. Results Cross-sectional analysis revealed that in PD patients, volume ratios of multiple brain regions—including the bilateral precentral gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, bilateral postcentral gyrus, bilateral superior and inferior parietal lobules, bilateral precuneus, right cuneus, right lingual gyrus, bilateral lateral occipital gyrus, and right globus pallidus—were negatively associated with disease duration (p < 0.05). In contrast, the right hippocampus, right inferior temporal gyrus, and left superior temporal gyrus showed positive correlations (p < 0.05). The combined volume ratios of these brain regions also decreased with longer disease duration (p < 0.05). Furthermore, absolute volume differences in the hippocampus, fusiform gyrus, isthmus of the cingulate gyrus, and cerebellar white matter increased as the disease progressed (p < 0.05). Conclusion In PD patients, volume ratios and absolute volume differences in specific brain subregions associated with lateralized intracranial changes may serve as potential biomarkers for assessing brain tissue alterations during disease progression.
Keywords: Parkinson's disease, brain atrophy, structural magnetic resonance imaging, Linear regression analysis, whole-brain region analysis
Received: 15 Jul 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mo, Luan, Yao, Wang, Sui and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lei Zhang, zhang_lei@jlu.edu.cn
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