Cytoarchitectonically-Driven MRI Atlas of the Hippocampus and the Behavioral Impact of Neural Recording Devices: Addressing Methodological Concerns for Studies of Age-Related Change in Hippocampal Subfields

Abstract

The hippocampal formation forms a circuit of cytoarchitectonically distinct subregions, and substantial evidence suggests each region makes unique computational contributions that support spatial and episodic memory. With aging, hippocampal subfields undergo unique neurobiological alterations, and primate in vivo work making use of both MR imaging and chronic neural recording devices has important links to changes seen in nonprimate animal models with aging (Thome et al., 2016; Yassa et al., 2011a; Yassa et al., 2010). While MRI offers a noninvasive way to study the hippocampal subfields, identifying hippocampal subregions without using post mortem histology is a challenge. When different research labs attempted to identify the hippocampal subregions using a single subject’s MRI, researchers showed significant disagreement in where to label different subregions (Yushkevich et al., 2015a). Alternatively, chronic neural recording devices offer an invasive solution to studying hippocampal subfields. However, it is currently not clear whether the mechanical trauma and foreign body response produced by neural recording devices disrupts neural circuits critical for behavior. Here, my colleagues and I address these issues with in vivo primate research. Chapter I provides a general introduction to the hippocampal circuits and changes observed in aging. Chapter II presents novel methods for construction of a histology-driven MRI atlas of nonhuman primate hippocampus that addresses accurate identification of hippocampal subfields in MR images. Chapter III presents empirical work that examines whether chronic neural recording devices targeted at the hippocampus affect recognition memory. Finally, Chapter IV provides a general discussion of both works in the context of the broader literature.