Human Basal Ganglia Volume Asymmetries on Magnetic Resonance Images

The brains of 19 healthy adults, ages 18-49, were imaged on a GE Signa 1.5 T MR scanner. Basal ganglia were circumscribed on sequential axial proton density-weighted images (TR 1700, TE 20) and submitted for 3-dimensional reconstruction and volumetric analysis at a computer graphics workstation. The 15 right-handed patients (12 men, 3 women) had significantly larger left total basal ganglia volumes, which included larger globus pallidus and lenticular nuclei on the left, but larger caudate nuclei on the right. In contrast, basal ganglia asymmetries were not seen in four left-handers. No sex differences were detected. The basal ganglia appear to belong to an increasing number of CNS structures that display anatomical hemispheric lateralization.