The prefrontal cortex is sensitive to the effect of ageing, as measured by decreases in brain and grey matter volume. Moreover, sex hormones have a role in the emergence and maintenance of frontal and prefrontal structures, but reports of sex differences in prefrontal cortical ageing have been inconsistent. Sixty-eight healthy males and females aged 20 to 72 years underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Volumes for four regional prefrontal subfields per hemisphere (medial and lateral, dorsal and
orbital) were measured. Results showed that age-related volume decreases were greater in medial than in lateral prefrontal regions, and that these effects were more prominent in males than females. This sex difference was localized to the orbital medial region, that is reduced in males but not in females. Age-related decreases in lateral prefrontal volume were found in females, but were statistically less robust than the effect in medial regions. Further studies will evaluate if changes in cognitive function related to dorsal and orbital prefrontal regions occur with ageing, in particular a lower performance in tasks involving response association and
advantageous decision making in males than in females.