Structural and functional neural correlates of spatial navigation: A combined voxel‐based morphometry and functional connectivity study
Introduction: Navigation is a fundamental and multidimensional cognitive function
that individuals rely on to move around the environment. In this study, we investigated
the neural basis of human spatial navigation ability.
Methods: A large cohort of participants (N > 200) was examined on their navigation
ability behaviorally and structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
were then used to explore the corresponding neural basis of spatial navigation.
Results: The gray matter volume (GMV) of the bilateral parahippocampus (PHG), retrosplenial
complex (RSC), entorhinal cortex (EC), hippocampus (HPC), and thalamus
(THAL) was correlated with the participants’ self-reported
navigational ability in general,
and their sense of direction in particular. Further fMRI studies showed that the
PHG, RSC, and EC selectively responded to visually presented scenes, whereas the
HPC and THAL showed no selectivity, suggesting a functional division of labor among
these regions in spatial navigation. The resting-state
functional connectivity analysis
further revealed a hierarchical neural network for navigation constituted by these regions,
which can be further categorized into three relatively independent components
(i.e., scene recognition component, cognitive map component, and the component of
heading direction for locomotion, respectively).
Conclusions: Our study combined multi-modality
imaging data to illustrate that multiple
brain regions may work collaboratively to extract, integrate, store, and orientate
spatial information to guide navigation behaviors.
Additional information
brb3572-sup-0001-FigS1-S4.docx
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