Diffusion tensor studies dissociated two fronto-temporal pathways in the human memory system

Recent functional neuroimaging studies have shown that multiple cortical areas are involved in memory encoding and retrieval. However, the underlying anatomical connections among these memory-related areas in humans remain elusive due to methodological limitations. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a technique based on detecting the diffusion of water molecules from magnetic resonance images. DTI allows non-invasive mapping of anatomical connections and gives a comprehensive picture of connectivity throughout the entire brain. By combining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and DTI, we show that memory-related areas in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) each connect with memory-related areas in the left temporal cortex. This result suggests there are two pathways between prefrontal cortex and temporal cortex related to the human memory system.