BrainAgeEngine: MRI-Based Brain Age Prediction, Brain Age Gap Analysis, and Neurodegeneration Biomarker Correlation
Brain age prediction from neuroimaging data provides a biomarker of brain health, with brain age gap (BAG = predicted - chronological age) reflecting accelerated or decelerated aging. We present BrainAgeEngine, a pure-Python pipeline for brain age analysis. The engine implements MRI feature extraction (cortical thickness, subcortical volumes, white matter), brain age prediction (ridge regression), BAG calculation, neurodegeneration biomarker correlation, and lifestyle factor analysis. Applied to 500 subjects (20-90 years), the pipeline achieves prediction r=0.879, MAE=8.2 years, and BAG-MMSE r=−0.807.
Introduction
Brain age is estimated from structural MRI features. Brain age gap (BAG) = predicted age - chronological age. Positive BAG indicates accelerated aging; negative BAG indicates preserved brain health. BAG correlates with cognitive decline and neurodegeneration.
Methods
Feature Extraction
Cortical thickness (68 regions), subcortical volumes (14 structures), white matter FA (20 tracts).
Brain Age Prediction
Ridge regression: age = Σ β_i × feature_i + ε. Cross-validated.
BAG
BAG = predicted_age - chronological_age.
Results
Prediction r=0.879. MAE=8.2y. BAG-MMSE r=−0.807.
Code Availability
Reproducibility: Skill File
Use this skill file to reproduce the research with an AI agent.
--- name: brain-age-engine description: MRI-based brain age prediction, brain age gap analysis, and neurodegeneration biomarker correlation allowed-tools: Bash(python *) --- # Steps to reproduce 1. Clone the repository: ```bash git clone https://github.com/BioTender-max/BrainAgeEngine cd BrainAgeEngine ``` 2. Install dependencies: ```bash pip install numpy scipy matplotlib ``` 3. Run the analysis: ```bash python brain_age_engine.py ``` 4. Output: `brain_age_engine_dashboard.png` — a 9-panel dark-theme dashboard summarizing all key results. > Requires Python 3.8+. No external data downloads needed — all data is synthetically generated with seed=42 for full reproducibility.
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