Size of the neocerebellar vermis is associated with cognition in healthy elderly men

Cerebellar volumes show small positive correlations with cognitive ability in young adults, but no studies have examined this relationship in older adults. Furthermore, no studies have examined relationships between sizes of subareas of the cerebellum and cognitive ability. We hypothesized that size of the two areas of the neocerebellar vermis would correlate with a battery of eight cognitive tests in 50 men aged 65-70. Size of the neocerebellar areas of the vermis correlated positively with several cognitive tests (r’s =.29-37, p <.05), whilst sizes of other parts of the vermis did not correlate with any cognitive tests. Total cerebellar volumes correlated significantly with a test of nonverbal reasoning (r =.030, p =.42). These findings suggest a specific association of neocerebellar vermis size with variations in cognitive ability in older adults. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.