Home › Research › Hippocampus size on brain scans
Extrahippocampal contributions to age differences in human spatial navigation
Moffat SD, Kennedy KM, Rodrigue KM, Raz N.. Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), 2006-07-20
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The hippocampus (HC) and associated neural structures are hypothesized to contribute to individual differences in human spatial navigation. However, functional imaging studies and theoretical models underscore the importance of extrahippocampal regions as well. The purpose of the present study was to examine age differences in virtual environment navigation and to assess possible relationships between navigation and structural integrity of hippocampal and extrahippocampal brain regions. Healthy adult volunteers completed a virtual navigation task and underwent magnetic resonance imaging to assess volumes of the caudate nucleus (CN), cerebellum, HC, prefrontal, and primary visual cortices. Results demonstrated robust age-related differences in place learning. Moreover, individual differences in regional brain volumes as well as performance on the tests of memory and executive functions contributed to age differences in human place learning. High performance in a virtual navigation task was associated with larger volume of the CN and prefrontal gray and white matter. Larger hippocampal volume was associated with improved performance in the young but not old participants. We conclude that human navigation requires both hippocampal and extrahippocampal brain systems and draws on executive resources for successful performance.
Key findings
- Results demonstrated robust age-related differences in place learning.
- High performance in a virtual navigation task was associated with larger volume of the CN and prefrontal gray and white matter.
- Larger hippocampal volume was associated with improved performance in the young but not old participants.
- We conclude that human navigation requires both hippocampal and extrahippocampal brain systems and draws on executive resources for successful performance.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 36 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2007 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16857855) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 21 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 36 out of 100. |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Moffat, S. D., Kennedy, K. M., Rodrigue, K. M., & Raz, N. (2007). Extrahippocampal contributions to age differences in human spatial navigation. Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991). https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhl036
Vancouver
Moffat SD, Kennedy KM, Rodrigue KM, Raz N. Extrahippocampal contributions to age differences in human spatial navigation. Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991). 2007. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhl036. PMID: 16857855.
BibTeX
@article{moffat2007-16857855,
author = {Moffat, S. D. and Kennedy, K. M. and Rodrigue, K. M. and Raz, N.},
title = {{Extrahippocampal contributions to age differences in human spatial navigation}},
journal = {Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1093/cercor/bhl036},
pmid = {16857855},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhl036}
}
Related studies in Hippocampus size on brain scans
Also tagged “disorder”
492 studies in the library carry the topic tag “disorder”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 492 tagged studies.