The hippocampus is one of the best-known neural structures in the brain and has been of interest in observing the substructures and their metabolic functions. However, it has been difficult to distinguish its substructures and functions in vivo because of its small size.
Methods: (18)F-FDG PET and high-resolution MRI of the hippocampus were performed on 5 healthy subjects using a PET/MRI system. The metabolism of each hippocampal substructure was measured in vivo on the basis of the MR images.
Results: The dentate gyrus and cornu ammonis 4 showed the highest glucose uptake in the healthy subjects.
Conclusion: Measuring glucose metabolism in the substructures of the hippocampus could provide a new tool for the future investigation of related brain diseases or functional studies, such as Alzheimer disease or memory and learning studies.