What this means
Spinal cord morphometry provides essential biomarkers of neurological health, but clinical interpretations are confounded by inter-subject variability and a lack of normative references across the full human lifespan. We address this gap by generating the first comprehensive lifespan charts for cervical spinal cord morphometry.
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- People
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Charting Cervical Spinal Cord Morphometry Across the Lifespan.
- Authors
- Schilling KG, Kim ME, Amandola M et al.
- Journal
- Human brain mapping
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Study type
- Study · in humans
- PMID
- 42908281 ↗
Abstract
Spinal cord morphometry provides essential biomarkers of neurological health, but clinical interpretations are confounded by inter-subject variability and a lack of normative references across the full human lifespan. We address this gap by generating the first comprehensive lifespan charts for cervical spinal cord morphometry. From 78,269 T1-weighted brain MRI sessions, we identified a final cross-sectional cohort of 24,251 healthy or cognitively normal controls from 33 datasets (ages 0-100 years) with cervical cord coverage. To overcome contrast variability, we employed a state-of-the-art contrast-agnostic deep learning segmentation method, extracting cross-sectional area (CSA), anteroposterior (AP) and right-left (RL/transverse), and shape indices (AP/RL ratio, eccentricity, and solidity) from C1 to C7. Normative trajectories were modeled using Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape (GAMLSS). The resulting charts reveal distinct non-linear lifespan changes: rapid growth through childhood and adolescence, peak maturation occurring in early-to-mid adulthood (e.g., mid-30s for CSA), followed by gradual decreases. Significant regional variations along the cervical cord and consistent sex differences (males > females for size metrics) were quantified. Spinal cord trajectories showed strong temporal coupling with brain white matter and brainstem volumes, suggesting integrated CNS development and aging. These lifespan charts provide a robust normative framework, enabling age- and sex-specific centile scoring of individual spinal cord morphometry. This resource offers a critical tool for differentiating typical variation from pathological changes, enhancing the clinical utility of spinal cord MRI in studies of development and neurodegeneration.
Schilling KG, Kim ME, Amandola M et al. Charting Cervical Spinal Cord Morphometry Across the Lifespan. Human brain mapping. 2026. doi:10.1002/hbm.70658. PMID: 42908281. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42908281/