Heritability of hippocampal functional and microstructural organisation

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 264; p. 119656
• Main Authors: Bayrak, Şeyma, de Wael, Reinder Vos, Schaare, H. Lina, Hettwer, Meike D., Caldairou, Benoit, Bernasconi, Andrea, Bernasconi, Neda, Bernhardt, Boris C., Valk, Sofie L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2022; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Alzheimer's disease; Connectome; Dentate gyrus; Functional connectivity; Gradients; Heritability; Hippocampal plasticity; Hippocampal subfields; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - diagnostic imaging; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Microstructure; Neural networks; Neuroimaging; Regions; Schizophrenia; Stress; Structure-function relationships; Subiculum; Temporal cortex; Temporal Lobe; Time series; Functional connectivity; Hippocampal subfields; Gradients; Heritability; Microstructure; Hippocampus
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119656

•Hippocampal organisational features are linked across structures and modalities.•Functional connectivity between hippocampal subfields and isocortex is heritable.•Microstructural variation along hippocampal subfields is highly heritable.•We find systematic genetic correlation with microstructure of the isocortex.•Genetic factors contribute to the hippocampal formation at the individual level. The hippocampus is a uniquely infolded allocortical structure in the medial temporal lobe that consists of the microstructurally and functionally distinct subregions: subiculum, cornu ammonis, and dentate gyrus. The hippocampus is a remarkably plastic region that is implicated in learning and memory. At the same time it has been shown that hippocampal subregion volumes are heritable, and that genetic expression varies along a posterior to anterior axis. Here, we studied how a heritable, stable, hippocampal organisation may support its flexible function in healthy adults. Leveraging the twin set-up of the Human Connectome Project with multimodal neuroimaging, we observed that the functional connectivity between hippocampus and cortex was heritable and that microstructure of the hippocampus genetically correlated with cortical microstructure. Moreover, both functional and microstructural organisation could be consistently captured by anterior-to-posterior and medial-to-lateral axes across individuals. However, heritability of functional, relative to microstructural, organisation was found reduced, suggesting individual variation in functional organisation may be explained by experience-driven factors. Last, we demonstrate that structure and function couple along an inherited macroscale organisation, suggesting an interplay of stability and plasticity within the hippocampus. Our study provides new insights on the heritability of the hippocampal of the structure and function within the hippocampal organisation.