The hippocampal formation is a prominent C-shaped structure bulging in the floor of the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle. The hippocampus proper consists of three major subfields (CA1-CA3). The other regions that together comprise the hippocampal formation consist of the dentate gyrus, the subicular complex, and the entorhinal cortex.
What part of the brain is the hippocampus?
The hippocampus is a small part of the brain located in the medial temporal lobes (MTL), under the cerebral cortex. The hippocampus is an essential part of the brain’s limbic system, a group of brain structures in the cerebral cortex responsible for behavioral and emotional responses.
What is the role of the hippocampus in memory?
Research has also found that different subregions of the hippocampus itself play important roles in certain types of memory. The rear part of the hippocampus is involved in the processing of spatial memories.
What are the subfields of the hippocampus?
The hippocampus proper consists of three major subfields (CA1-CA3). The other regions that together comprise the hippocampal formation consist of the dentate gyrus, the subicular complex, and the entorhinal cortex.
What are some good books on the function of the hippocampus?
Ramón y Cajal S (1894). "The Croonian Lecture: La Fine Structure des Centres Nerveux". Proceedings of the Royal Society. 55 (331–335): 444–68. Bibcode: 1894RSPS...55..444C. doi: 10.1098/rspl.1894.0063. Campbell S, Macqueen G (Nov 2004). "The role of the hippocampus in the pathophysiology of major depression".
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What happens if the right hippocampus is damaged?
If one or both parts of the hippocampus are damaged by illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, or if they are hurt in an accident, the person can experience a loss of memory and a loss of the ability to make new, long-term memories.
What is the hippocampus role in memory?
Memories are not stored in the hippocampus for the long term. Instead, it is believed that the hippocampus acts as something of a shipping center, taking in information, registering it, and temporarily storing it before shipping it off to be filed and stored in long-term memory.
What is unique about the hippocampus?
Memory Formation The hippocampus is important in the organization and storage of new memories, especially those which are declarative memories (e.g., memories relating to facts and events). This area is also responsible for making memories stronger by connecting sensations and emotions to these memories.
How do you have a healthy hippocampus?
Exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, is one of the best ways to boost BDNF levels and improve hippocampal function. For example, a now-famous study compared the brains of two groups of mice.
What causes damage to the hippocampus?
Damage to hippocampus can occur through many causes including head trauma, ischemia, stroke, status epilepticus and Alzheimer's disease.
What emotions does the hippocampus control?
The hippocampus, located in the medial temporal lobe and connected with the amygdala that controls emotional memory recalling and regulation (Schumacher et al., 2018); it has increased the functional connectivity with anterior cingulate or amygdala during emotional regulation and recalling of positive memory (Guzmán- ...
What are three functions of the hippocampus?
Being an integral part of the limbic system, hippocampus plays a vital role in regulating learning, memory encoding, memory consolidation, and spatial navigation.
Can you live without a hippocampus?
In short, the hippocampus orchestrates both the recording and the storage of memories, and without it, this “memory consolidation” cannot occur.
What does the hippocampus do psychology?
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.
What does exercise do to the hippocampus?
Aerobic exercise like walking, jogging, or gardening may help your brain's hippocampus -- the part that's linked to memory and learning -- grow. It also might slow the shrinking of your hippocampus that can lead to memory loss as you get older.
What foods are good for the hippocampus?
Foods high in resveratrol (which your hippocampus loves!): red grapes, red wine, peanut butter, cranberries, and blueberries.
How does stress affect hippocampus?
Neurally, animal studies have revealed that stress alters ensuing synaptic plasticity and firing properties of hippocampal neurons. Structurally, human and animal studies have shown that stress changes neuronal morphology, suppresses neuronal proliferation, and reduces hippocampal volume.
What is the role of the hippocampus in memory quizlet?
The hippocampus is a save button for explicit memories, associates names with faces, helps with spatial mnemonics, and spatial memory. Describe the role that sleep plays in memory consolidation. During deep sleep, the hippocampus processes memories for later retrieval.
What are three functions of the hippocampus?
Being an integral part of the limbic system, hippocampus plays a vital role in regulating learning, memory encoding, memory consolidation, and spatial navigation.
What is the role of the hippocampus and amygdala in memory?
The amygdala is specialized for input and processing of emotion, while the hippocampus is essential for declarative or episodic memory. During emotional reactions, these two brain regions interact to translate the emotion into particular outcomes.
What major role does the hippocampus play in processing memories quizlet?
What major role does the hippocampus play in processing memories? It organizes information that is collected in the cerebral cortex.
What is the hippocampus?
See Article History. 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) ...
Why is the hippocampus important?
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.
Which circuits connect the hippocampus?
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.
What are the sources of input for the hippocampus?
Sources of input. The hippocampus receives input from modulatory neurotransmitter systems, including serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine systems. It also receives cholinergic input (responds to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine) from the medial septum, which regulates the hippocampal physiological state.
Which region of the hippocampus contains a large excitatory recurrent collateral network?
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. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now.
Which axis is the anterior hippocampus connected to?
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 ...
When was the spatial hypothesis discovered?
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.
Where is the hippocampus located?
The hippocampus is a part of the brain. It is found in the inner folds of the bottom middle section of the brain, known as the temporal lobe. Humans have known about the hippocampus for more than 4 centuries. It is one of the most studied parts of the brain. The name comes from the Greek words hippo, meaning horse, and kampo, meaning monster, ...
What are some examples of hippocampus memory?
Declarative memories are those related to facts and events. Examples include learning how to memorize speeches or lines in a play. Spatial relationship memories involve pathways or routes.
Why is it so hard to remember when you have transient global amnesia?
It may be that damage to the hippocampus is involved. Damage to the hippocampus can make it hard to remember how to get from one place to another.
How much does the hippocampus shrink in Alzheimer's?
In people with depression, the hippocampus can shrink by up to 20 percent. Trusted Source. , according to some researchers.
What happens if you lose your hippocampus?
If one or both parts of the hippocampus are damaged by illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, or if they are hurt in an accident, the person can experience a loss of memory and a loss of the ability to make new, long-term memories.
What is the meaning of the word "hippo"?
The name comes from the Greek words hippo, meaning horse, and kampo, meaning monster, as its shape resembles that of a sseahorse. Its main functions involve human learning and memory. Knowing about the hippocampus has helped researchers understand how memory works. Share on Pinterest.
What percentage of people with epilepsy have damage to their hippocampus?
Epilepsy. Autopsies have suggested that between 50 and 75 percent of people with epilepsy have damage to the hippocampus. However, it is not clear whether epilepsy is the cause or the result of this damage.
What is the hippocampus?
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy. The hippocampus (via Latin from Greek ἱππόκαμπος, ' seahorse ') is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, and plays important roles in the consolidation ...
Where is the hippocampus located?
For other uses, see Hippocampus (disambiguation). Humans have two hippocampi, one in each hemisphere of the brain. They are located in the medial temporal lobes of the cerebrum.
How does the brain store memories?
Since at least the time of Ramon y Cajal (1852-1934), psychologists have speculated that the brain stores memory by altering the strength of connections between neurons that are simultaneously active. This idea was formalized by Donald Hebb in 1949, but for many years remained unexplained. In 1973, Tim Bliss and Terje Lømo described a phenomenon in the rabbit hippocampus that appeared to meet Hebb's specifications: a change in synaptic responsiveness induced by brief strong activation and lasting for hours or days or longer. This phenomenon was soon referred to as long-term potentiation (LTP). As a candidate mechanism for long-term memory, LTP has since been studied intensively, and a great deal has been learned about it. However, the complexity and variety of the intracellular signalling cascades that can trigger LTP is acknowledged as preventing a more complete understanding.
When was the hippocampus minor removed?
The term hippocampus minor fell from use in anatomy textbooks and was officially removed in the Nomina Anatomica of 1895.
Which part of the brain is responsible for emotional behavior?
The hippocampus is anatomically connected to parts of the brain that are involved with emotional behavior—the septum, the hypothalamic mammillary body, and the anterior nuclear complex in the thalamus, and is generally accepted to be part of the limbic system.
Which part of the brain is responsible for the consolidation of information from short term memory to long term memory?
The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory, and in spatial memory that enables navigation. The hippocampus is located in the allocortex, with neural projections into the neocortex in humans, as well as primates.
Which lobe is the left?
In this lateral view of the human brain, the frontal lobe is at the left, the occipital lobe at the right, and the temporal and parietal lobes have largely been removed to reveal one of the hippocampi underneath. Hippocampus (lowest pink bulb) as part of the limbic system. Details. Part of.
What is the hippocampus?
The hippocampus is a part of the limbic system that is closely related to memory. The integral functions of the hippocampus include: Influences memory formation: The hippocampal formation influences new memory formation and memory consolidation. This section of the brain also influences our ability to encode and retrieve information—where ...
Where is the hippocampus located?
The hippocampus is a small part of the brain located in the medial temporal lobes (MTL), under the cerebral cortex. The hippocampus is an essential part of the brain’s limbic system, a group of brain structures in the cerebral cortex responsible for behavioral and emotional responses.
What is the human brain?
Articles. Videos. Instructors. The human brain is a complex network of neural and synaptic connectivity. The hippocampus and other brain structure areas, like the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, and thalamus, work together to produce our feelings, thoughts, personality, and behavior, along with our other natural bodily functions.
What are the disorders of the hippocampus?
Damage, impairment, or underdevelopment of the human hippocampus can lead to many brain disorders, such as: Alzheimer’s disease: In people with Alzheimer’s, neurogenesis (creation of new neurons) is inhibited, and important cells and connections die off, leading to memory loss and impairment, ...
What is the meaning of the word "hippocampus"?
The term “hippocampus”—derived from the Greek words hippo (meaning horse) and kampos (meaning monster)—translates to “seahorse,” a reference to its shape.
Which part of the brain is responsible for learning and memorizing facts and concepts?
These neurons are divided into two pathways: the polysynaptic pathway, the part of the hippocampus responsible for learning and memorizing facts and concepts, and the direct pathway, which is important for event recollection and spatial recognition.
What is the term for a person who cannot remember traumatic events?
Post-traumatic stress disorder: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is closely related to a person’s memory and experience of a traumatic event. Individuals with PTSD may not recall certain traumatic moments of their past or find that their memories of trauma are ever-present.
What is the hippocampus?
The hippocampus is a small, curved formation in the brain that plays an important role in the limbic system. The hippocampus is involved in the formation of new memories and is also associated with learning and emotions. 1 .
Why is the hippocampus important?
Because the hippocampus plays such an important role in the formation of new memories, damage to this part of the brain can have a serious long-term impact on certain types of memory. Damage to the hippocampus has been observed upon post-mortem analysis of the brains of individuals with amnesia. Such damage is linked to problems with forming ...
What is the effect of damage to the hippocampus?
Research on mice suggests that damage to the left hippocampus has an effect on the recall of verbal information while damage to the right hippocampus results in problems with visual information. 5 .
Why is the hippocampus important for Alzheimer's?
10 . The hippocampus may also play a role in contributing to the development of addictions. Because drugs and alcohol affect the brain's reward systems, the hippocampus creates memories of these satisfying experiences.
What is the role of the hippocampus in memory?
The hippocampus plays a critical role in the formation, organization, and storage of new memories as well as connecting certain sensations and emotions to these memories.
How does age affect the hippocampus?
MRI scans of human brains have found that the human hippocampus shrinks by around 13% between the ages of 30 and 80. 9 . Those who experience such a loss may show significant declines in memory performance.
Which part of the brain is responsible for consolidating memory?
Memory Consolidation. The hippocampus also plays a role in consolidating memories during sleep. Studies published in 2004 suggest that greater hippocampal activity during sleep following some sort of training or learning experience leads to better memory of the material the following day. 3 .
Why is the hippocampus important?
It is particularly important for the process of learning, and seeing relationships between what has been learned.
What is the structure of the hippocampus?
Hippocampus: Structure and organisation. The hippocampus is comprised primarily of pyramidal cells. Like all cells, pyramidal cells have afferent processes (dendrites) and efferent processes (axons). It should be noted that the dendrites of a pyramidal cell extend from both the apex and base.
What are the parts of the hippocampal?
The hippocampal formation is an important component of the limbic system, along with the amygdala and septal area (although some also include the cingulate gyrus and prefrontal cortex as part of this system). The world “hippocampus” is derived from the Greek words “hippos” meaning horse and “kampos” meaning sea monster, and refers to the structure’s shape resembling a seahorse. The elongated hippocampal structures lie along the longitudinal axis of the brain, one in each of the medial parts of the temporal lobes, and form the medial walls of the inferior horns of the lateral ventricles. It is made up of three components: 1 the hippocampus 2 dentate gyrus 3 subicular cortex
What is the hippocampal structure?
The elongated hippocampal structures lie along the longitudinal axis of the brain, one in each of the medial parts of the temporal lobes, and form the medial walls of the inferior horns of the lateral ventricles. It is made up of three components:
What are the three parts of the hippocampal system?
It is made up of three components: the hippocampus. dentate gyrus. subicular cortex.
Where do the efferent fibers of the hippocampal formation come from?
The efferent fibers of the hippocampal formation, sending signals from the hippocampus to other parts of the brain, come from the pyramidal cells of the hippocampus and subicular cortex. Fibers from the amygdala, situated anteriorly to the hippocampus, also travel largely in tandem with the hippocampal fibers. These fiber bundles arising from the hippocampus and amygdala pass postero-dorsally along the body of the lateral ventricle, around the posterior part of the thalamus, and then anteriorly along the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle.
Which part of the brain is the input to the hippocampus?
Input to the hippocampus. The entorhinal cortex is an important source of two different groups of afferent fibers delivering information to the hippocampal formation. The lateral perforant pathway arises from the lateral entorhinal cortex and extends into the molecular layer of the hippocampus.
What is the hippocampus?
The hippocampus is one of several brain regions that together comprise the hippocampal formation. The hippocampal formation is a prominent C-shaped structure bulging in the floor of the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle. The hippocampus proper consists of three major subfields (CA1-CA3). The other regions that together comprise ...
Which regions of the brain are involved in the hippocampal formation?
The other regions that together comprise the hippocampal formation consist of the dentate gyrus, the subicular complex, and the entorhinal cortex. Based on its extrinsic connectivity, the hippocampal formation receives a vast amount of highly processed multimodal sensory information that is funneled into the hippocampal formation mainly by ...
What is the hippocampal formation?
The hippocampal formation is a prominent C-shaped structure bulging in the floor of the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle. The hippocampus proper consists of three major subfields (CA1-CA3). The ot …. The hippocampus is one of several brain regions that together comprise the hippocampal formation. The hippocampal formation is ...
Which part of the brain is connected to the neocortical areas?
The entorhinal cortex is connected to associational neocortical areas in a reciprocal manner. Extensive hippocampal integration of sensory information is established by a largely unidirectional chain of intrinsic hippocampal projections.
What is the hippocampus?
Hippocampus Function and Location. The hippocampus is a curved-shaped structure in the temporal lobe associated with learning and memory. The name being derived from the Greek words for ‘sea monster’ but is more commonly recognizable for being shaped like a seahorse. The hippocampus is considered to be a part of the limbic system, ...
How to keep the hippocampus active?
As the hippocampus is more concerned with memory, completing memory-based activities can help to keep the hippocampus active. Exercises such as trying to memorize lists of words or reading and writing could all help to keep the hippocampus working properly.
How does exercise strengthen the hippocampus?
For instance, it has been found that physical exercise is a way that can strengthen the hippocampus as it stimulates neurogenesis (Van Praag, Shubert, Zhao, & Gage, 2005). Being able to manage stress can reduce the number of stress-related neurotransmitters being taken in by the hippocampus.
Why is the hippocampus important?
The hippocampus is important in the organization and storage of new memories , especially those which are declarative memories (e.g., memories relating to facts and events). This area is also responsible for making memories stronger by connecting sensations and emotions to these memories.
What is the function of the hippocampus?
Spatial Memory and Navigation. Another key function of the hippocampus is its role in spatial navigation. The rear part of the hippocampus is believed to be involved in processing spatial memories, this is so we can encode the environment around us and remember where everything is.
Which part of the brain is responsible for the sense of smell?
The hippocampus is one of the most studied areas of the brain and is also one of the few places where neurogenesis occurs, the process by which new neurons are produced. Historically, the hippocampus was believed to be primarily involved in olfaction (sense of smell), falsely believed to be receiving direct input from the olfactory bulb.
Which part of the brain is composed of pyramidal cells?
Please try again later. The hippocampus is comprised primarily of pyramidal cells, which are multipolar neurons which have excitatory and projective functions. This structure is also divided into different regions called fields named CA1, CA2, CA3, and CA4.
Overview
The hippocampus proper refers to the actual structure of the hippocampus which is made up of three regions or subfields. The subfields CA1, CA2, and CA3 use the initials of cornu Ammonis, an earlier name of the hippocampus.
Name
Relation to limbic system
Anatomy
The hippocampus (via Latin from Greek ἱππόκαμπος, 'seahorse') is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory, and in spatial memory that …
Function
The earliest description of the ridge running along the floor of the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle comes from the Venetian anatomist Julius Caesar Aranzi (1587), who likened it first to a silkworm and then to a seahorse (Latin hippocampus, from Greek ἱππόκαμπος, from Greek ἵππος, "horse" + κάμπος, "sea monster"). The German anatomist Duvernoy (1729), the first to illustrate the st…
Electroencephalography
The term limbic system was introduced in 1952 by Paul MacLean to describe the set of structures that line the edge of the cortex (Latin limbus meaning border): These include the hippocampus, cingulate cortex, olfactory cortex, and amygdala. Paul MacLean later suggested that the limbic structures comprise the neural basis of emotion. The hippocampus is anatomically connected to parts of the brain that are involved with emotional behavior – the septum, the hypothalamic mam…
Disorders
The hippocampus can be seen as a ridge of gray matter tissue, elevating from the floor of each lateral ventricle in the region of the inferior or temporal horn. This ridge can also be seen as an inward fold of the archicortex into the medial temporal lobe. The hippocampus can only be seen in dissections as it is concealed by the parahippocampal gyrus. The cortex thins from six layers to th…
Other animals
Over the years, three main ideas of hippocampal function have dominated the literature: response inhibition, episodic memory, and spatial cognition. The behavioral inhibition theory (caricatured by John O'Keefe and Lynn Nadel as "slam on the brakes!") was very popular up to the 1960s. It derived much of its justification from two observations: first, that animals with hippocampal dama…