A Review of Neuroimaging-Driven Brain Age Estimation for Identification of Brain Disorders and Health Conditions

Background: Neuroimage analysis has made it possible to perform various anatomical analyses of the brain regions and helps detect different brain conditions/ disorders. Recently, neuroimaging-driven estimation of brain age is introduced as a robust biomarker for detecting different diseases and health conditions. Objective: To present a comprehensive review of brain age frameworks concerning: i) designing view: an overview of brain age frameworks based on image modality and methods used, and ii) clinical aspect: an overview of the application of brain age frameworks for detection of neurological disorders or health conditions. Methods: PubMed is explored to collect 136 articles from January 2010 to June 2021 using "Brain Age Estimation" and "Brain Imaging," along with combinations of other radiological terms. Results & Conclusion: The studies presented in this review are evidence of using brain age estimation methods in detecting various brain diseases/conditions. The survey also highlights tools and methods for brain age estimation and addresses some future research directions.