Fornix microstructure correlates with recollection but not familiarity memory
Open accessAbstract
The fornix is the main tract between the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and medial diencephalon, both of which are critical for episodic memory. The precise involvement of the fornix in memory, however, has been difficult to ascertain since damage to this tract in human amnesics is invariably accompanied by atrophy to surrounding structures. We used diffusion-weighted imaging to investigate whether individual differences in fornix white matter microstructure in neurologically healthy participants were related to differences in memory as assessed by two recognition tasks. Higher microstructural integrity in the fornix tail was found to be associated with significantly better recollection memory. In contrast, there was no significant correlation between fornix microstructure and familiarity memory or performance on two non-mnemonic tasks. Our findings support the idea that there are distinct MTL–diencephalon pathways that subserve differing memory processes.
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Compared with other limbic white matter pathways, correlations between white matter microstructure and episodic memory in healthy populations are much more reliably found for the fornix than the cingulum.
“Compared with other limbic white matter pathways, correlations between white matter microstructure and episodic memory in healthy populations are much more reliably found for the fornix than the cingulum (e.g., Douet and Chang, 2015; Metzler-Baddeley et al., 2011; Rudebeck et al., 2009).”
From The cingulum bundle: Anatomy, function, and dysfunction (2018) · cites this paper as Rudebeck et al., 2009
The Results (Imaging Results; page not provided) report a significant correlation between fornix microstructure and recollection in healthy participants. The paper does not establish that such correlations are more reliably found for the fornix than for the cingulum or other limbic pathways; its reported analyses focus on the fornix. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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References 39 · Cited by 121
Research works printed but not linked: 34
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- Authors
- Rudebeck, S. R., Scholz, J., Millington, R., Rohenkohl, G., Johansen-Berg, H., & Lee, A. C. H.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2009-11-25
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 47
- Pages
- 14987-14992
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC2825810
- OpenAlex
- W2017375738
- Cited by
- 121
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 3.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (078204, 082315)
- University of Oxford
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- fornix, white matter microstructure, episodic memory, medial temporal lobe, diencephalon, individual differences in memory, recognition memory
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anthropometry, Brain Mapping, Cognition, Diencephalon, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mammillary Bodies, Memory, Neural Pathways, Neuropsychological Tests, Photic Stimulation, Reference Values, Anterior Thalamic Nuclei, Fornix, Brain, Recognition, Psychology, Young Adult
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