A human memory circuit derived from brain lesions causing amnesia

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 3497 - 9
• Main Authors: Ferguson, Michael A., Lim, Chun, Cooke, Danielle, Darby, R. Ryan, Wu, Ona, Rost, Natalia S., Corbetta, Maurizio, Grafman, Jordan, Fox, Michael D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 02.08.2019; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 59/36; 59/57; 631/378/1595/1554; 631/378/1595/2167; 631/378/1595/3922; 692/617/375/132/1283; 692/617/375/534; Abnormalities; Adult; Aged; Alzheimer Disease - complications; Alzheimer Disease - diagnostic imaging; Alzheimer Disease - pathology; Amnesia; Amnesia - diagnostic imaging; Amnesia - etiology; Amnesia - pathology; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - pathology; Case reports; Circuits; Connectome; Datasets as Topic; Female; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Lesions; Male; Medical imaging; Memory - physiology; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Nerve Net - pathology; Neural networks; Neuroimaging; Neurology; Presubiculum; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Stroke - complications; Stroke - diagnostic imaging; Stroke - pathology
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11353-z

Human memory is thought to depend on a circuit of connected brain regions, but this hypothesis has not been directly tested. We derive a human memory circuit using 53 case reports of strokes causing amnesia and a map of the human connectome ( n  = 1000). This circuit is reproducible across discovery ( n  = 27) and replication ( n  = 26) cohorts and specific to lesions causing amnesia. Its hub is at the junction of the presubiculum and retrosplenial cortex. Connectivity with this single location defines a human brain circuit that incorporates > 95% of lesions causing amnesia. Lesion intersection with this circuit predicts memory scores in two independent datasets (N1 = 97, N2 = 176). This network aligns with neuroimaging correlates of episodic memory, abnormalities in Alzheimer’s disease, and brain stimulation sites reported to enhance memory in humans. Memory is hypothesised to depend on different brain regions that interact in a network. Here, the authors use case studies of stroke patients with amnesia from the literature to identify brain regions that are part of this network.