Noninvasive in vivo demonstration of the connections of the human parahippocampal gyrus

MR tractography techniques provide a method for noninvasively studying white matter pathways in vivo. In this study we have used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the fast marching tractography (FMT) algorithm to plot the structural connectivity of the human parahippocampal gyros (PHG) in 10 healthy subjects, using seed points selected in the anterior parahippocampal gyrus. Our results demonstrate connectivity between the parahippocampal gyrus and the anterior temporal lobe, orbitofrontal areas, posterior temporal lobe and extrastriate occipital lobe via the lingual and fusiform gyri. We also demonstrate for the first time noninvasively direct connectivity between the parahippocampal gyrus and the hippocampus itself. These results agree with previous histological tract-tracing studies in animals. The connections demonstrated between neocortical areas and the hippocampus via the parahippocampal gyrus may provide the structural basis for theoretical models of memory and higher visual processing. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.