QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, September 19, 2007, 27(38):10078-10083; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1763-07.2007

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (8) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bohbot, V. D. Articles by Zijdenbos, A. P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bohbot, V. D. Articles by Zijdenbos, A. P.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Gray Matter Differences Correlate with Spontaneous Strategies in a Human Virtual Navigation Task

Véronique D. Bohbot,¹ Jason Lerch,² Brook Thorndycraft,¹ Giuseppe Iaria,³ and Alex P. Zijdenbos^2,4

¹Douglas, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Verdun, Quebec, Canada H4H 1R3, ²Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2B4, ³Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Roma "La Sapienza" and Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy, and ⁴Neuralyse, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4P 2R2

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Véronique D. Bohbot, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas, Frank B. Common Building, 6875 Boulevard LaSalle, Verdun, Quebec, Canada H4H 1R3. Email: veronique.bohbot{at}mcgill.ca

Young healthy participants spontaneously use different strategies in a virtual radial maze, an adaptation of a task typically used with rodents. Functional magnetic resonance imaging confirmed previously that people who used spatial memory strategies showed increased activity in the hippocampus, whereas response strategies were associated with activity in the caudate nucleus. Here, voxel based morphometry was used to identify brain regions covarying with the navigational strategies used by individuals. Results showed that spatial learners had significantly more gray matter in the hippocampus and less gray matter in the caudate nucleus compared with response learners. Furthermore, the gray matter in the hippocampus was negatively correlated to the gray matter in the caudate nucleus, suggesting a competitive interaction between these two brain areas. In a second analysis, the gray matter of regions known to be anatomically connected to the hippocampus, such as the amygdala, parahippocampal, perirhinal, entorhinal and orbitofrontal cortices were shown to covary with gray matter in the hippocampus. Because low gray matter in the hippocampus is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, these results have important implications for intervention programs that aim at functional recovery in these brain areas. In addition, these data suggest that spatial strategies may provide protective effects against degeneration of the hippocampus that occurs with normal aging.

Key words: spatial memory; hippocampus; caudate nucleus; virtual environment; response learning; basal ganglia

---

Received Jan. 5, 2007; revised June 7, 2007; accepted June 26, 2007.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Véronique D. Bohbot, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas, Frank B. Common Building, 6875 Boulevard LaSalle, Verdun, Quebec, Canada H4H 1R3. Email: veronique.bohbot{at}mcgill.ca

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Woollett, H. J. Spiers, and E. A. Maguire Talent in the taxi: a model system for exploring expertise Phil Trans R Soc B, May 27, 2009; 364(1522): 1407 - 1416. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. He, Z. Chen, and A. Evans Structural Insights into Aberrant Topological Patterns of Large-Scale Cortical Networks in Alzheimer's Disease J. Neurosci., April 30, 2008; 28(18): 4756 - 4766. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help