Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Hippocampal abnormalities in amnesic patients revealed by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

THE identification of brain structures and connections involved in memory functions has depended largely on clinico-pathological studies of memory-impaired patients1–4, and more recently on studies of a primate model of human amnesia5,6. But quantitative neurobehavioural data and detailed neuropathological information are rarely available for the same patients7–9. One case has demonstrated that selective bilateral damage to the hippocampus causes a circumscribed memory impairment in the absence of other intellectual deficits9. This finding, in conjunction with evidence from humans10,11 and monkeys12–16, indicates that the hippocampus together with adjacent and anatomically related structures is essential for the formation of long-term memory, perhaps by virtue of the extensive reciprocal connections between the hippocampal formation and putative memory storage sites in the neocortex17. Although cognitive studies of amnesia provide useful information about the functional organization of normal memory1,18–21, it has not usually been possible to relate memory impairment to anatomy in living patients. We have developed a high-resolution protocol for imaging the human hippocampus with magnetic resonance that permits visualization of the hippocampal formation in substantial cytoarchitectonic detail, revealing abnormalities in patients with severe and selective memory impairment.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Squire, L. R. Memory and Brain (Oxford University Press, New York, 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Damasio, A. R. Semin. Neurol. 4, 223–225 (1986).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Markowitsch, H. J. Brain Res. Rev. 13, 351–370 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Victor, M., Adams, R. & Collins, G. H. The Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome and Related Neurologic Disorders due to Alcoholism and Malnutrition (2nd edn) (Davis, Philadelphia, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mishkin, M., Spiegler, J., Saunders, R. C. & Malamut, B. J. in Toward a Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (eds Corkin, S., Davis, K. L., Growdon, J. H., Usdin, E. J. & Wurtman, R. J.) 235–247 (Raven, New York, 1982).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Squire, L. R. & Zola-Morgan, S. in The Physiological Basis of Memory (ed. Deutsch, J. A.) 199–268 (Academic, New York, 1983).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  7. Mair, W. G. P., Warrington, E. K. & Weiskrantz, L. Brain 102, 749–783 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Mayes, A. R., Meudell, P. R., Mann, D. & Pickering, A. Cortex 24, 367–388 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zola-Morgan, S., Squire, L. R. & Amaral, D. G. J. Neurosci. 6, 2950–2967 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Scoville, W. B. & Milner, B. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat. 20, 11–21 (1957).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Victor, M., Angevine, J. & Fisher, C. M. Archs. Neurol. 5, 244–263 (1961).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Mishkin, M. Nature 273, 297–298 (1978).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Mahut, H., Zola-Morgan, S. & Moss, M. J. J. Neurosci. 2, 1214–1229 (1982).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Zola-Morgan, S., Squire, L. R. & Amaral, D. G. J. Neurosci. 9, 898–913 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Zola-Morgan, S., Squire, L. R. & Amaral, D. G. J. Neurosci. (in the press).

  16. Zola-Morgan, S., Squire, L. R., Amaral, D. G. & Suzuki, W. A. J. Neurosci. 9, 1922–1936 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Squire, L. R., Shimamura, A. P. & Amaral, D. G. in Neural Models of Plasticity (eds Byrne, J. & Berry, W.) 208–239 (Academic, New York, 1989).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  18. Weiskrantz, L. Human Neurobiol. 6, 93–105 (1987).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Baddeley, A. Trends Neurosci. 11, 176–181 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Schacter, D. L. in Memory Systems of the Brain: Animal and Human Cognitive Processes (eds Weinberger, N., Lynch, G. & McGaugh, J.) 351–379 (Guilford, New York, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Shimamura, A. P. in Handbook of Neuropsychology (eds Boiler, F. & Grafman, J.) (Elsevier, Amsterdam, in the press).

  22. Squire, L. R. & Shimamura, A. P. Behavl Neurosci. 100, 866–877 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Janowsky, J. S., Shimamura, A. P., Kritchevsky, M. & Squire, L. R. Behavl Neurosci. 103, 548–560 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Jones, M. K. Neuropsychologia 12, 21–30 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Mattis, S. in Geriatric Psychiatry (eds Bellack, R. & Karasu, B.) 77–121 (Grune & Stratton, New York, 1976).

    Google Scholar 

  26. Benton, A. L. & Hamsher, K. Multilingual Aphasia Examination (Univ. Iowa, Iowa City, 1976).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Braffman, B. H. et al. Am. J. Neuroradiol. 9, 629–636 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Seab, J. P. et al. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 8, 200–208 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Nadich, T. P. et al. Radiology 162, 747–754 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Jack, C. R. et al. Radiology 172, 549–554 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Hyman, B. T., Van Hoesen, G. W., Damasio, A. R. & Barnes, C. L. Science 225, 1168–1170 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Press, G., Amaral, D. & Squire, L. Hippocampal abnormalities in amnesic patients revealed by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Nature 341, 54–57 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/341054a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/341054a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing