Cargando…
The role of the fornix in human navigational learning
Experiments on rodents have demonstrated that transecting the white matter fibre pathway linking the hippocampus with an array of cortical and subcortical structures - the fornix - impairs flexible navigational learning in the Morris Water Maze (MWM), as well as similar spatial learning tasks. While...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Masson
2020
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7061322/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31855730 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2019.10.017 |
_version_ | 1783504371648036864 |
---|---|
author | Hodgetts, Carl J. Stefani, Martina Williams, Angharad N. Kolarik, Branden S. Yonelinas, Andrew P. Ekstrom, Arne D. Lawrence, Andrew D. Zhang, Jiaxiang Graham, Kim S. |
author_facet | Hodgetts, Carl J. Stefani, Martina Williams, Angharad N. Kolarik, Branden S. Yonelinas, Andrew P. Ekstrom, Arne D. Lawrence, Andrew D. Zhang, Jiaxiang Graham, Kim S. |
author_sort | Hodgetts, Carl J. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Experiments on rodents have demonstrated that transecting the white matter fibre pathway linking the hippocampus with an array of cortical and subcortical structures - the fornix - impairs flexible navigational learning in the Morris Water Maze (MWM), as well as similar spatial learning tasks. While diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) studies in humans have linked inter-individual differences in fornix microstructure to episodic memory abilities, its role in human spatial learning is currently unknown. We used high-angular resolution diffusion MRI combined with constrained spherical deconvolution-based tractography, to ask whether inter-individual differences in fornix microstructure in healthy young adults would be associated with spatial learning in a virtual reality navigation task. To efficiently capture individual learning across trials, we adopted a novel curve fitting approach to estimate a single index of learning rate. We found a statistically significant correlation between learning rate and the microstructure (mean diffusivity) of the fornix, but not that of a comparison tract linking occipital and anterior temporal cortices (the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, ILF). Further, this correlation remained significant when controlling for both hippocampal volume and participant gender. These findings extend previous animal studies by demonstrating the functional relevance of the fornix for human spatial learning in a virtual reality environment, and highlight the importance of a distributed neuroanatomical network, underpinned by key white matter pathways, such as the fornix, in complex spatial behaviour. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7061322 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | Masson |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-70613222020-03-12 The role of the fornix in human navigational learning Hodgetts, Carl J. Stefani, Martina Williams, Angharad N. Kolarik, Branden S. Yonelinas, Andrew P. Ekstrom, Arne D. Lawrence, Andrew D. Zhang, Jiaxiang Graham, Kim S. Cortex Article Experiments on rodents have demonstrated that transecting the white matter fibre pathway linking the hippocampus with an array of cortical and subcortical structures - the fornix - impairs flexible navigational learning in the Morris Water Maze (MWM), as well as similar spatial learning tasks. While diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) studies in humans have linked inter-individual differences in fornix microstructure to episodic memory abilities, its role in human spatial learning is currently unknown. We used high-angular resolution diffusion MRI combined with constrained spherical deconvolution-based tractography, to ask whether inter-individual differences in fornix microstructure in healthy young adults would be associated with spatial learning in a virtual reality navigation task. To efficiently capture individual learning across trials, we adopted a novel curve fitting approach to estimate a single index of learning rate. We found a statistically significant correlation between learning rate and the microstructure (mean diffusivity) of the fornix, but not that of a comparison tract linking occipital and anterior temporal cortices (the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, ILF). Further, this correlation remained significant when controlling for both hippocampal volume and participant gender. These findings extend previous animal studies by demonstrating the functional relevance of the fornix for human spatial learning in a virtual reality environment, and highlight the importance of a distributed neuroanatomical network, underpinned by key white matter pathways, such as the fornix, in complex spatial behaviour. Masson 2020-03 /pmc/articles/PMC7061322/ /pubmed/31855730 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2019.10.017 Text en © 2019 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Hodgetts, Carl J. Stefani, Martina Williams, Angharad N. Kolarik, Branden S. Yonelinas, Andrew P. Ekstrom, Arne D. Lawrence, Andrew D. Zhang, Jiaxiang Graham, Kim S. The role of the fornix in human navigational learning |
title | The role of the fornix in human navigational learning |
title_full | The role of the fornix in human navigational learning |
title_fullStr | The role of the fornix in human navigational learning |
title_full_unstemmed | The role of the fornix in human navigational learning |
title_short | The role of the fornix in human navigational learning |
title_sort | role of the fornix in human navigational learning |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7061322/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31855730 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2019.10.017 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT hodgettscarlj theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT stefanimartina theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT williamsangharadn theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT kolarikbrandens theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT yonelinasandrewp theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT ekstromarned theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT lawrenceandrewd theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT zhangjiaxiang theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT grahamkims theroleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT hodgettscarlj roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT stefanimartina roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT williamsangharadn roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT kolarikbrandens roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT yonelinasandrewp roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT ekstromarned roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT lawrenceandrewd roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT zhangjiaxiang roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning AT grahamkims roleofthefornixinhumannavigationallearning |