November 17, 2025

@michaelokun

Why does your brain shrink in Parkinson’s? The word shrink in this case refers to measurable loss of brain tissue called atrophy, which reflects the thinning of cortex and loss of volume in key brain regions. Andrew Vo and colleagues describe in a new paper in Brain that Parkinson’s is marked by widespread atrophy that follows the brain’s wiring diagram and also its local biological vulnerabilities. Key Points: - Widespread cortical thinning appears across parietal, temporal and subcortical regions and worsens as Parkinson disease stage advances. - Network architecture shapes atrophy as areas w/ strong structural connections to already affected regions frequently show more damage. - Local vulnerability matters as regions expressing genes tied to synaptic structure and signaling show the greatest susceptibility to atrophy. My take: Your brain will shrink w/ age. Your brain will shrink faster w/ a disease like Parkinson's. Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me as to why that may be true: 1- Brain networks matter because connected areas tend to shrink together in Parkinson’s. 2- Local biology contributes since areas rich in synapse related genes show more thinning. 3- Cognition (thinking function) relates to atrophy as thinner cortex and smaller subcortical regions frequently accompany thinking related changes. 4- Different regions follow different rules w/ cortex driven strongly by network spread and subcortex (deep regions of brain) displaying a more complex pattern. 5- Understanding atrophy helps treatment planning since knowing which regions are vulnerable may guide strategies for earlier intervention. https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awaf432/8323509 #parkinson #michaelokun #fixelinstitute