hippocampus

hippocampus, region of the brain that is associated primarily with memory. The name hippocampus is derived from the Greek hippokampus (hippos, meaning “horse,” and kampos, meaning “sea monster”), since the structure’s shape resembles that of a sea horse. The hippocampus, which is located in the inner (medial) region of the temporal lobe, forms part of the limbic system, which is particularly important in regulating emotional responses. The hippocampus is thought to be principally involved in storing long-term memories and in making those memories resistant to forgetting, though this is a matter of debate. It is also thought to play an important role in spatial processing and navigation.

Anatomy of the hippocampus

The anatomy of the hippocampus is of chief importance to its function. The hippocampus receives input from and sends output to the rest of the brain via a structure known as the entorhinal cortex, which is located beneath the anterior (frontal) region of the hippocampus. The hippocampal formation itself is composed of several subregions, which include the cornu ammonis (CA1–4), the dentate gyrus, and the subiculum.

Principal neural circuits

The subregions of the hippocampus are connected by two principal neural circuits: the trisynaptic circuit and the monosynaptic circuit. The trisynaptic circuit forwards information from the entorhinal cortex to the dentate gyrus via the perforant path, which perforates through the subiculum. Information then flows from the dentate gyrus to CA3 via the mossy fibre pathway (so named for the extensive branching of its axons). Finally, information flows from CA3 to CA1 along bundles of axons known as Schaffer collaterals. The circuit is completed by outbound projections to the subiculum and the entorhinal cortex. The monosynaptic input bypasses the dentate gyrus and CA3 and instead transmits information directly from the entorhinal cortex to CA1.

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Morphological distinctions

The CA fields contain three layers (in contrast to the rest of the brain’s six-layered cortex) and use pyramidal cells (neurons with dendrites that spread to give the cell body a triangular appearance) as the principal excitatory cells. The CA3 region of the hippocampus contains a large excitatory recurrent collateral network (where axons loop back to input fibres, or dendrites), which constitutes the largest input source to CA3.

The dentate gyrus is morphologically distinct from CA fields and contains densely packed granule cells (neurons with relatively small cell bodies). The dentate gyrus is also one of only two regions in the brain known to house neural stem cells that are capable of differentiating into new neurons throughout adulthood.

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Functions of the hippocampus

The two most-influential theories for hippocampal function are related to space and memory. The spatial hypothesis was supported by the seminal discovery in 1971 of cells in the hippocampus that fired bursts of action potentials when a rat traversed specific locations in space, or “place fields.” That suggested that the hippocampus was a sort of device used by the brain for mapping layouts of the environment. Data supporting that idea came from later virtual navigation studies in humans, which suggested a strong association between the hippocampus and spatial navigation. The memory hypothesis originated in 1957 and was supported by studies and observations in which hippocampal removal resulted in a loss of the ability to form new memories, particularly fact- and event-related (declarative) memories.

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Although there is near universal agreement among scientists that the hippocampus is important for memory, the exact processes by which the hippocampus supports memory are subject to much debate. Some studies suggest that the hippocampus binds items and contexts into unified experiences and stores them. Other studies suggest that the hippocampus is preferentially involved in conscious recollection, or the experience of mental time travel during recall. Still other studies suggest that the hippocampus is able to support rapid learning by reducing interference among similar memories (for example, where a person parked his or her car today versus yesterday). Some theories of hippocampal function treat the hippocampus as an index (much like an index at the end of a book) that binds together elements of an experience but does not store the experience itself. The latter is assumed to be stored in a distributed fashion throughout the brain, while the hippocampus is assumed to possess an index of that distributed code.

There is disagreement about whether long-term memories eventually become independent of the hippocampus, with the cortex being sufficiently able to support recall. That is known as the standard model of systems consolidation. The major competing theory, multiple trace theory, suggests that the hippocampus continues to be needed for long-term recall of episodic (context-rich) memories but not for semantic or gist memories. Finally, hippocampal structure, function, and connectivity are not uniform along its longitudinal axis. The anterior hippocampus is preferentially connected to the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex and is thought to be involved principally in the regulation of emotion and stress. The posterior hippocampus is preferentially connected to the retrosplenial and posterior parietal cortices and is thought to be involved principally in cognitive and spatial processing.