Affiliations: Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre,
University of Liverpool, UK | Department of Clinical Neurology, University of
Sheffield, UK | Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool,
UK | Department of Psychology, University of Manchester,
UK | Department of Neuropathology, University of
Manchester, UK
Note: [] Corresponding author: Neil Roberts, Magnetic Resonance and Image
Analysis Research Centre, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool, L69
3BX, UK. Tel.: +44 151 794 5629; Fax: +44 151 794 5635; E-mail:
neil@liverpool.ac.uk.
Abstract: A rigorous new methodology was applied to the study of structure
function relationships in the living human brain. Face recognition memory (FRM)
and other cognitive measures were made in 29 healthy young male subjects (mean age = 21.7 years) and related to volumetric
measurements of their cerebral hemispheres and of structures in their medial
temporal lobes, obtained using the Cavalieri method in combination with high
resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI. Greatest proportional
variability in volumes was found for the lateral ventricles (57%) for the
cerebral hemispheres (8%) in the mean volumes of the hippocampus,
parahippocampal gyrus, amygdala, caudate nucleus, temporal pole and temporal
lobe on the right and left sides of the brain. The volumes of the right and
left parahippocampal gyrus, temporal pole, temporal lobe, and left hippocampus
were, prior to application of the Bonferroni correction to take account of
12 multiple comparisons, significantly correlated with the volume of the
corresponding hemisphere(p < 0.05). The volumes of all
structures were highly correlated (p < 0.0002 for all
comparisons) between the two cerebral hemispheres. There were no positive
relationships between structure volumes and FRM score. However, the volume of
the right amygdala was, prior to application of the Bonferroni correction to
take account of 38~multiple comparisons, found to be significantly smaller in
the five most consistent high scorers compared to the five most consistent low
scorers (t = 2.77,p = 0.025). The
implications for possible relationships between healthy medial temporal lobe
structures and memory are discussed.
