Brain activation during human navigation: gender-different neural networksas substrate of performance

Visuospatial navigation in animals and human subjects is generally studied using maze exploration. We used functional MRI to observe brain activation in male and female subjects as they searched for the way out of a complex, three-dimensional, virtual-reality maze. Navigation activated the medial oc cipital gyri, lateral and medial parietal regions, posterior cingulate and parahippocampal gyri as well as the right hippocampus proper. Gender-specif ic group analysis revealed distinct activation of the left hippocampus in m ales, whereas females consistently recruited right parietal and right prefr ontal cortex. Thus we demonstrate a neural substrate of well established hu man gender differences in spatial-cognition performance.