KASMEJ
Kastamonu Medical Journal

Kastamonu Medical Journal regularly publishes internationally qualified issues in the field of Medicine in the light of up-to-date information.

eISSN: 2757-9336
Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.
EndNote Style

Online Manuscript System

Index
Original Article
The volumes of hippocampal subfields in a group of young adults, and their relationship with pattern separation performance
Abstract
Aims: Subfields of the hippocampus have long been held responsible for the pattern separation function of episodic memory. The total neuron numbers of the entorhinal cortex (EC), which gives the major input to the hippocampus, the dentate gyrus (DG), and CA3 and their ratio to each other is thought to be important for the pattern separation process. In this study, the relationship between the volumes of the EC and hippocampal subfields and behavioral pattern separation performance was investigated.
Methods: 3D brain MRI images of 39 university students were obtained and the volumes of EC and hippocampal subfields (CA1, CA2-CA3, CA4-DG) were analyzed on the volBrain online automatic brain volumetry system. All participants were evaluated with a cognitive test for pattern separation performance. Finally, the correlation between the volume of brain areas and pattern separation performance score was statistically analyzed.
Results: Total and right CA2-CA3 volume had positive correlation with pattern separation score (p=0.036, p=0.028 respectively) and negative correlation with recognition fail (p=0.013, p=0.009 respectively). CA1 volume also had a negative correlation with recognition fail (p=0.040) while the ratio of EC volume to CA4-DG was positively correlated with success of pattern separation (p=0.016).
Conclusion: The results contribute to our understanding of memory function by indicating the relationship between EC-to-DG divergence and CA2-CA3 volume with pattern separation.

Keywords : Pattern separation, recognition, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, cornu ammonis, entorhinal cortex

Download Article


1. Bakker A, Kirwan CB, Miller M, Stark CE. Pattern separation in the human hippocampal CA3 and dentate gyrus. Science. 2008;319(5870): 1640-1642. doi:10.1126/science.1152882
2. Clelland CD, Choi M, Romberg C, et al. A functional role for adult hippocampal neurogenesis in spatial pattern separation. Science. 2009; 325(5937):210-213. doi:10.1126/science.1173215
3. Yassa MA, Stark CE. Pattern separation in the hippocampus. Trends Neurosci. 2011;34(10):515-525. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2011.06.006
4. Kumaran D, Hassabis D, McClelland JL. What learning systems do intelligent agents need? Complementary learning systems theory updated. Trends Cogn Sci. 2016;20(7):512-534. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.05. 004
5. Leal S, Yassa M. Integrating new findings and examining clinical applications of pattern separation. Nat Neurosci. 2018;21(2):163-173. doi:10.1038/s41593-017-0065-1
6. Berron D, Schütze H, Maass A, et al. Strong evidence for pattern separation in human dentate gyrus. Neurosci. 2016;36(29):7569-7579. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0518-16.2016
7. Schultz C, Engelhardt M. Anatomy of the hippocampal formation.Front Neurol Neurosci. 2014;34:6-17. doi: 10.1159/000360925
8. Bonnici H, Chadwick M, Maguire E. Representations of recent and remote autobiographical memories in hippocampal subfields. Hippocampus. 2013;23(10):849-854. doi:10.1002/hipo.22155
9. Lee I, Kesner RP. Encoding versus retrieval of spatial memory: double dissociation between the dentate gyrus and the perforant path inputs into CA3 in the dorsal hippocampus. Hippocampus. 2004;14(1):66-76. doi:10.1002/hipo.10167
10. Das T, Ivleva EI, Wagner AD, Stark CE, Tamminga CA. Loss of pattern separation performance in schizophrenia suggests dentate gyrus dysfunction. Schizophr Res. 2014;159(1):193-197. doi:10.1016/j.schres. 2014.05.006
11. Lee H, Stirnberg R, Wu S, et al. Genetic Alzheimer’s disease risk affects the neural mechanisms of pattern separation in hippocampal subfields. Curr Biol. 2020;30(21):4201-4212.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.042
12. Parizkova M, Lerch O, Andel R, et al. Spatial pattern separation in early Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 2020;76(1):121-138. doi:10.3233/JAD-200093
13. Lange I, Goossens L, Michielse S, et al. Behavioral pattern separation and its link to the neural mechanisms of fear generalization. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017;12(11):1720-1729. doi:10.1093/scan/nsx104
14. Kheirbek MA, Klemenhagen KC, Sahay A, Hen R. Neurogenesis and generalization: a new approach to stratify and treat anxiety disorders. Nat Neurosci. 2012;15(12):1613-1620. doi:10.1038/nn.3262
15. Becker S. A computational principle for hippocampal learning and neurogenesis. Hippocampus. 2005;15(6):722-738. doi:10.1002/hipo.200 95
16. Amaral DG, Ishizuka N, Claiborne B. Neurons, numbers and the hippocampal network. Prog Brain Res. 1990;83:1-11. doi:10.1016/s0079-6123(08)61237-6
17. Rolls ET, Kesner RP. A computational theory of hippocampal function, and empirical tests of the theory. Prog Neurobiol. 2006;79(1):1-48. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2006.04.005
18. Ngo CT, Michelmann S, Olson IR, Newcombe NS. Pattern separation and pattern completion: behaviorally separable processes? Mem Cognit. 2021;49(1):193-205. doi:10.3758/s13421-020-01072-y
19. Gandy K, Kim S, Sharp C, Dindo L, Maletic-Savatic M, Calarge C. Pattern separation: A potential marker of ımpaired hippocampal adult neurogenesis in major depressive disorder. Front Neurosci. 2017;26:571. doi:10.3389/fnins.2017.00571
20. Dillon SE, Tsivos D, Knight M, et al. The impact of ageing reveals distinct roles for human dentate gyrus and CA3 in pattern separation and object recognition memory. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):14069. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13853-8
21. Hanert A, Rave J, Granert O, et al. Hippocampal dentate gyrus atrophy predicts pattern separation ımpairment in patients with LGI1 Encephalitis. Neuroscience. 2019;21:400:120-131. doi:10.1016/j.neuro science.2018.12.046
22. Toner CK, Pirogovsky E, Kirwan CB, Gilbert PE. Visual object pattern separation deficits in nondemented older adults. Learn Mem. 2009;16(5): 338-342. doi:10.1101/lm.1315109
23. Lee H, Wang C, Deshmukh SS, Knierim JJ. Neural population evidence of functional heterogeneity along the CA3 transverse axis: Pattern completion versus pattern separation. Neuron. 2015;87(5):1093-1105. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.07.012
24. Martig AK, Mizumori SJ. Ventral tegmental area disruption selectively affects CA1/CA2 but not CA3 place fields during a differential reward working memory task. Hippocampus. 2011;21(2):172-184. doi:10.1002/hipo.20734
25. Tzakis N, Holahan MR. Social memory and the role of the hippocampal CA2 region. Front Behav Neurosci. 2019;1;13:233. doi:10.3389/fnbeh. 2019.00233
26. Modi B, Pimpinella D, Pazienti A, Zacchi P, Cherubini E, Griguoli M. Possible ımplication of the CA2 hippocampal circuit in social cognition deficits observed in the Neuroligin 3 knock-out mouse, a non-syndromic animal model of autism. Front Psychiatry. 2019;19:10:513. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00513
27. Bartsch T, Döhring J, Rohr A, Jansen O, Deuschl G. CA1 neurons in the human hippocampus are critical for autobiographical memory, mental time travel, and autonoetic consciousness. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;18:108(42):17562-17567. doi:10.1073/pnas.1110266108
28. Dong Z, Gong B, Li H, et al. Mechanisms of hippocampal long-term depression are required for memory enhancement by novelty exploration. J Neurosci. 2012;29:32(35):11980-11990. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0984-12.2012
29. von Ziegler LM, Selevsek N, Tweedie-Cullen RY, Kremer E, Mansuy IM. Subregion-specific proteomic signature in the hippocampus for recognition processes in adult mice. Cell Rep. 2018;22(12):3362-3374. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2018.02.079
30. Pidgeon LM, Morcom AM. Cortical pattern separation and item-specific memory encoding. Neuropsychologia. 2016;85:256-271. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.03.026 </ol> <p>
Article available in :
Volume 5, Issue 4, 2025
Page : 248-252
https://doi.org/10.51271/KMJ-0220
Article Information
Received : 30 Oca 2025
Accepted : 24 Haz 2025
Published : 02 Ara 2025
Corresponding Author :

Zülal Kaptan: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakıf University, İstanbul, Turkiye

[email protected]
Citation : Kaptan Z, Ünalmış Aykar D, Ece B, Petekkaya E. The volumes of hippocampal subfields in a group of young adults, and their relationship with pattern separation performance. Kastamonu Med J. 2025;5(4):248-252.

Read: 20
Download : 44
Cited: 0
_Footer