Toward a marker of upper motor neuron impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A fully automatic investigation of the magnetic susceptibility in the precentral cortex.

•an automatic pipeline was used to assess cortical thickness and iron deposition in ALS.•cortical thickness of the precentral cortex is reduced in ALS patients.•susceptibility skewness of the precentral cortex is increased in ALS patients.•cortical thickness of the precentral cortex predicts upper motor neuron score.•susceptibility skewness of the precentral cortex predicts upper motor neuron score.