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A Structure-Function Substrate of Memory for Spatial Configurations in Medial and Lateral Temporal Cortices
Shahin Tavakol1, Qiongling Li1, Jessica Royer1
1McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|March 5, 2021
Summary
This study introduces a new spatial memory task (CSST) and finds that better performance is linked to thicker temporal cortices in healthy adults. This supports a specific structure-function basis for spatial memory in the human temporal lobe.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- The medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampal-parahippocampal complex, is crucial for spatial cognition.
- Existing methods for assessing spatial cognition may have limitations in terms of duration, complexity, or applicability within neuroimaging environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel spatial memory paradigm, the conformational shift spatial task (CSST).
- To investigate the neural correlates of spatial memory using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- To examine the specificity of the CSST by comparing its performance with other memory measures.
Main Methods:
- Development of the conformational shift spatial task (CSST), a short, symbolic cue-based paradigm with two difficulty levels, suitable for fMRI.
- Recruitment of 48 healthy young adults who completed the CSST, behavioral assessments, and multimodal MRI (structural, task-based fMRI, resting-state fMRI).
- Analysis of structural MRI for cortical thickness, task-based fMRI for neural activity during CSST, and resting-state fMRI for network connectivity.
Main Results:
- CSST performance showed specificity, correlating with established spatial memory paradigms but not episodic memory or mnemonic discrimination.
- Higher spatial memory ability was associated with thicker medial and lateral temporal cortices in structural MRI.
- Task-based fMRI and meta-analysis supported the functional relevance of these temporal lobe structures.
- Resting-state fMRI revealed altered intrinsic network integration, particularly between lateral and medial temporal structures, in relation to morphological findings.
Conclusions:
- The conformational shift spatial task (CSST) is a novel and validated paradigm for assessing spatial memory.
- The human temporal lobe, specifically its medial and lateral cortices, provides an integrated structure-function substrate for spatial memory.
- The findings highlight the importance of temporal lobe structures in encoding and retrieving spatial relations between items.
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