Investigating the Relationship Between Hippocampal Volume and Spatial Memory in Early Childhood
Andrew Bunnell
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Abstract
The hippocampus is known to have a key role in memory, spatial navigation, and emotional behavior. The brain structure continues to develop postnatally during neurogenesis as the hippocampus integrates new neurons into existing neural circuits. The overall size of the hippocampus can be assessed through structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Despite the knowledge of hippocampus function in adults and older children, it is unknown if the hippocampus supports spatial memory in young children. The current study leverages structural MRI and cognitive assessments from the Baby Connectome Project, specifically the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) Zoo Locations task, to investigate the relationship between hippocampal development and spatial memory in young children. MRI images were obtained when children were 1 to 2 years old. Automated algorithms were used to segment the brain into its distinct parts. The hippocampus was further manually segmented to compute the volume of the hippocampal subregions (bilateral head/body/tail). A linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between hippocampal volume and spatial memory performance, controlling for sex assigned at birth and age at MRI scan. The results of the regression indicated that total hippocampal volume was negatively associated with Zoo Location Score (F(4, 31) = 3.65, p = 0.0058) with a regression coefficient of (B = -0.002, p = 0.0058). Follow up analyses of the hippocampus bilateral head, body, and tail indicated that only the right head volume was negatively associated with zoo location score (B = -0.006, p = 0.0017). No other statistical tests were significant. Understanding this relationship could provide valuable insights into hippocampal development and its association with spatial memory in young children.
