Identifying global anatomical differences: Deformation-based morphometry

The aim of this paper is to illustrate a method for identifying macroscopic anatomical differences among the brains of different populations of subjects. The method involves spatially normalizing the structural MR images of a number of subjects so that they all conform to the same stereotactic space. Multivariate statistics are then applied to the parameters describing the estimated nonlinear deformations that ensue. To illustrate the method, we compared the gross morphometry of male and female subjects. We also assessed brain asymmetry, the effect of handedness, and interactions among these effects.