Spatial memory activation of the parietal cortex measured with near-infrared spectroscopic imaging in the finger-maze of the Morris water maze analogue for humans.

Full Abstract

To assess the cortical regions involved in learning spatial navigation, changes in oxyhemoglobin volume were measured with near-infrared spectroscopy in a task analogous to the Morris water maze. The blindfolded participants (Ps) were allowed to search the area inside the circular ring (20 cm) until they reached a goal (1 cm). The sitting and starting positions were randomly varied across trials, but the goal was in a fixed position so that the Ps could learn the allocentric spatial relationship between the goal and the experimental room. There was a significant sex difference (p < 0.05) in the present task, showing that performance in males was better than that in females. With this task, we measured brain activation in the first training trial, the probe test, and the motor-control trials. In the first trial, dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices were activated. In the probe test, only the dorsolateral prefrontal regions were activated. These results suggest that the parietal cortex is critical for acquisition of spatial memory.

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Author information

Author/s: Saito, Kotaro (K); Watanabe, Shigeru (S);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Keio University, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan. kotaro(-atsign-)psy.flet.keio.ac.jp

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Reviews in the neurosciences (Rev Neurosci), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-; vol 17 (issue 1-2) : pp 227-38

Dates: Created 2006/05/17; Completed 2006/06/22; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16703954, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Arteries - physiology
Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology
Female
Fingers - innervation; physiology
Humans
Male
Maze Learning - physiology
Memory - physiology
Nerve Net - anatomy & histology; physiology

Nerve Net - anatomy & histology; physiology
Neural Pathways - anatomy & histology; physiology
Neuropsychological Tests
Oxygen Consumption - physiology
Parietal Lobe - blood supply; physiology
Prefrontal Cortex - blood supply; physiology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Reaction Time - physiology
Sex Characteristics
Space Perception - physiology
Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared - methods

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