PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Carl J. Hodgetts
AU  - Martina Stefani
AU  - Angharad N. Williams
AU  - Branden S. Kolarik
AU  - Andrew P. Yonelinas
AU  - Arne D. Ekstrom
AU  - Andrew D. Lawrence
AU  - Jiaxiang Zhang
AU  - Kim S. Graham
TI  - The role of the fornix in human navigational learning
AID  - 10.1101/391888
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 391888
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/08/21/391888.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/08/21/391888.full
AB  - Studies in rodents have demonstrated that transecting the white matter pathway linking the hippocampus and anterior thalamic nuclei - the fornix - impairs flexible navigational learning in the Morris Water Maze (MWM), as well as similar spatial learning tasks. While diffusion MRI studies in humans have linked fornix microstructure to scene discrimination and memory, its role in human navigation is currently unknown. We used high-angular resolution diffusion MRI to ask whether inter-individual differences in fornix microstructure would be associated with spatial learning in a virtual MWM task. To increase sensitivity to individual learning across trials, we adopted a novel curve fitting approach to estimate a single index of learning rate. We found a significant correlation between learning rate and the microstructure (mean diffusivity) of the fornix, but not that of a control tract linking occipital and anterior temporal cortices (the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, ILF). Further, this correlation remained significant when controlling for hippocampal volume. These findings extend previous animal studies by demonstrating the functional relevance of the fornix for human navigational learning, and highlight the importance of a distributed neuroanatomical network, underpinned by key white matter pathways, such as the fornix, in complex spatial behaviour.