To determine the change in intensity in the cerebral cortex on T2-weighted MRI with ageing, we reviewed the T2-weighted images of 83 normal subjects and measured the signal intensity in the cerebral cortex in 30 subjects randomly selected from them. Low-intensity areas were more common in the cerebral cortex of the aged. The intensity of different cortical regions varied, and the intensity in the temporal and parietal to be decreased with ageing. Presumably, this change of the intensity reflects senile changes, although low intensity is not evident in the temporal cortex because of its high basal intensity level.