Abstract #3531

In Vivo Diffusion Spectrum Imaging Shows the Structural Basis of the Papez Circuit

Cristina Granziera¹, Reto Meuli², Gunnar Krueger³

¹CHUV, Dpt of Neurology , Lausanne, VD, Switzerland; ²CHUV, Dpt of Radiology, Lausanne, VD, Switzerland; ³Siemens Switzerland SA - CIBM, Advanced Clinical Imaging Technology, Switzerland

The Papez circuit is an important anatomical substrate of memory and emotion. To date, however, no attempt has been done to show the structural basis of this circuit in-vivo, probably due to its convoluted shape and complex nature. In this investigation, we disentangled the anatomical structure of the Papez Circuit in humans using high-angular resolution diffusion spectrum imaging tractography. In six subjects, we could consistently map the hippocampus-mamillary body pathway, the pathway connecting the lateral subiculum to the cingulated cortex and the tract connecting the mamillary body to the thalamus, where higher level integration of cognition is performed.