ArticleEBioMedicine2025
Hypothalamic volume is associated with age, sex and cognitive function across lifespan: a comparative analysis of two large population-based cohort studies.
Article in EBioMedicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- MRI-based structural development of the human newborn hypothalamus.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- Sleep Traits and Cognitive Function: A Prospective Cohort Study With Exploration of Inflammatory Biomarkers.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Subregional hypothalamic volumes associate with childhood conduct problems in healthy adults.Brain imaging and behavior · 2026Article
- Linking cortical structure and delirium in the elderly: insights from cohort study and shared genetic risk analysis.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- The Oldenburg Hearing Health Record (OHHR).Scientific data · 2025Article
- Hippocampal subfields in aging: Sex-specific trajectories in structure and hemodynamics.NeuroImage · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEmerging findings indicate that the hypothalamus, the body's principal homeostatic centre, plays a crucial role in modulating cognition, but comprehensive population-based studies are lacking.
methodsWe used cross-sectional data from the Rhineland Study (N = 5812, 55.2 ± 13.6 years, 58% women) and the UK Biobank Imaging Study (UKB) (N = 45,076, 64.2 ± 7.7 years, 53% women), two large-scale population-based cohort studies. Volumes of hypothalamic structures were obtained from 3T structural magnetic resonance images through an automatic parcellation procedure (FastSurfer-HypVINN). The standardised cognitive domain scores were derived from extensive neuropsychological test batteries. We employed multivariable linear regression to assess associations of hypothalamic volumes with age, sex and cognitive performance.
findingsIn older individuals, volumes of total, anterior and posterior hypothalamus, and mammillary bodies were smaller, while those of medial hypothalamus and tuberal region were larger. Larger medial hypothalamus volume was related to higher cortisol levels in older individuals, providing functional validation. Volumes of all hypothalamic structures were larger in men compared to women. In both sexes, larger volumes of total, anterior and posterior hypothalamus, and mammillary bodies were associated with better domain-specific cognitive performance, whereas larger volumes of medial hypothalamus and tuberal region were associated with worse domain-specific cognitive performance.
interpretationWe found strong age and sex effects on hypothalamic structures, as well as robust associations between these structures and domain-specific cognitive functions. Overall, these findings thus implicate specific hypothalamic subregions as potential therapeutic targets against age-associated cognitive decline.
fundingInstitutional funds, Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany, Alzheimer's Association.
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