Differential effects of age and sex on the cerebellar hemispheres and the vermis: A prospective MR

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of age and sex on the size of the cerebellar hemispheres, the cerebellar vermis, and the pons in healthy adults. METHODS: We estimated the volumes of the cerebellar hemispheres (excluding the vermis and the peduncles), the cross-sectional area of the vermis, and the cross-sectional area of the ventral pons from MR images obtained in 146 healthy volunteers, 18 to 77 years old. RESULTS: We found a mild but significant age-related reduction in the volume of the cerebellar hemispheres and in the total area of the cerebellar vermis; however, the analysis of age trends in the vermian lobules revealed differential age-related declines. The areas of lobules VI and VII and of the posterior vermian lobules (VIII–X) declined significantly with age, whereas the anterior vermis (I–V) showed no significant age-related shrinkage. The volume of the cerebellar hemispheres (especially the right) and the area of the anterior vermis were greater in men, even after adjustment for height. Neither age nor sex affected the area of the ventral pons. CONCLUSIONS: Normal aging of the cerebellum is associated with selective regional shrinkage. The cerebellar hemispheres and the area of the anterior vermis may be larger in men tha

Erasmus Darwin, Thomas Beddoes, and “The Golden Age” of the 1790s

An anonymous poetic parody entitled “The Golden Age, A Poetical Epistle from Erasmus D——n, M.D. to Thomas Beddoes, M.D.” appeared in England in 1794 and has often been attributed to Erasmus Darwin since then. This article explores how the parody presents half-truths and surprising facts about 1790s radicalism(s) and the sexual revolution that grew out of early botanical studies to convince generations of readers that the slanderous sentiments leveled at Darwin and Beddoes were Darwin's own. The article demonstrates further that this apparently silly mockery makes such clever use of the traditional features of poetic parody that it may be considered to be a model of the literary form. In these ways, the poet of “The Golden Age” engages in an ideological battle to silence the radical scientist-poets by identifying them with unnaturalness, or perversion