Ultra-high-field fMRI reveals a role for the subiculum in scene perceptual discrimination.

J Neurosci. 2017 Feb 17;:

Authors: Hodgetts CJ, Voets NL, Thomas AG, Clare S, Lawrence AD, Graham KS

Abstract
Recent 'representational' accounts suggest a key role for the hippocampus in complex scene perception. Due to limitations in scanner field strength, however, the functional neuroanatomy of hippocampal-dependent scene perception is unknown. Here, we applied 7-Tesla high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) alongside a perceptual oddity task, modified from non-human primate studies. This task requires subjects to discriminate highly similar scenes, faces or objects from multiple viewpoints, and has revealed selective impairments during scene discrimination following hippocampal lesions. Region-of-interest analyses identified a preferential response in the subiculum subfield of the hippocampus during scene, but not face or object, discriminations. Notably, this effect was located in the anteromedial subiculum and was not modulated by whether scenes were subsequently remembered or forgotten. These results highlight the value of ultra-high-field fMRI in generating more refined, anatomically-informed, functional accounts of hippocampal contributions to cognition, and a unique role for the human subiculum in discrimination of complex scenes from different viewpoints.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThere is increasing evidence that the human hippocampus supports functions beyond just episodic memory, with human lesion studies suggesting a contribution to the perceptual processing of navigationally-relevant, complex scenes. While the hippocampus itself contains several small, functionally distinct subfields, examining the role of these in scene processing has been previously limited by scanner field strength. By applying ultra-high-resolution 7T fMRI, we were able to delineate the functional contribution of individual hippocampal subfields during a perceptual discrimination task for scenes, faces and objects. This demonstrated that the discrimination of scenes, relative to faces and objects, recruits the anterior subicular region of the hippocampus, regardless of whether scenes were subsequently remembered or forgotten.

PMID: 28213445 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]