Multimodal Neuroimaging in Late-Life Mental Disorders: Entering a More Mature Phase of Clinical Neuroscience Research

Magnetic resonance imaging based neuroimaging approaches have led to a broader appreciation and understanding of the neurobiologic basis of mental disorders in the elderly. The diverse MRI related approaches include morphometry, functional MRI (fMRI), magnetization transfer (MT), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). These techniques have enabled us to examine brain function from anatomical, physiological, and biophysical perspectives thereby providing complementary perspectives on the neurobiologic underpinnings of mental disorders. The early wave of neuroimaging studies focused on the more “macro” issues related to brain structure and function. These included volumes of specific lobes, qualitative estimates of high intensity lesions, and global and regional estimates of blood flow and glucose metabolism. Despite their limitations, these approaches were useful and answered a preliminary set of questions on the biological basis of mental disorders. They permitted us to objectively examine brain structure and function, in vivo, in mental disorders and to study the rela