Parieto-occipital brain atrophy (posterior cortical atrophy)

Shrinkage of the parietal and occipital lobes at the back of the brain, which process vision, spatial awareness and reading. This pattern is typical of posterior cortical atrophy, an atypical form of Alzheimer's disease that often begins with problems in vision and spatial orientation rather than memory. MRI volumetry measures this volume loss.