Gray Matter Volume Variability in Young Healthy Adults: Influence of Gender Difference and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Genotype

Although brain gray matter (GM) plastically changes during short-term training, it is still unclear whether brain structures are stable for short periods (several months). Therefore, this study aimed to re-test the short-term variability of GM volumes and to clarify the effect of factors (gender and BDNF-genotype) expected to contribute to such variability. The subjects comprised 41 young healthy adults. T1-weighted images were acquired twice with an interval of approximately 4 months using a 3 T-MRI scanner. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to calculate GM volumes in 47 regions. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Test–retest variability (%TRV) were used as indices of variability. As a result, the ICCs in 43 regions were excellent (ICC > 0.90) and those in 3 regions were good (ICC > 0.80), whereas the ICC in the thalamus was moderate (ICC = 0.694). Women had a higher %TRV than men in 5 regions, and %TRV of the Val66Val group was higher than that of the Met carrier group in 2 regions. Moreover, the Female-Val66Val group had a higher %TRV than the Male-Met carrier group in 3 regions. These results indicate that although the short-term variability of GM volumes is small, it is affected by within-subject factors.