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.
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.
Saito
Kotaro
K
Department of Psychology, Keio University, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan. kotaro@psy.flet.keio.ac.jp
Watanabe
Shigeru
S
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods