Characterization of age-related alterations in composition and morphology of locus coeruleus and substantia nigra pars compacta will aid in the development of new biomarkers and may provide insight in the development of novel interventions to arrest progression of Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease. Imaging these structures with diffusion-weighted images is difficult due to their small stature (locus coeruleus is 1.5 mm in diameter and 15 mm long) and location in the brain stem. In this abstract, we utilize a high resolution diffusion-weighted protocol to examine age-related microstructural changes in locus coeruleus and substantia nigra pars compacta.
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