Hippocampus

Location

The Hippocampus is located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain. It contains two main parts; Ammon's horn and the Dentate Gyrus.

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Function

The hippocampus is strongly implicated in STM->LTM memory formation and processing, as well as spatial memory.

Evidence

  • It's one of the first regions to show degeneration in Alzheimer's disease - the clinical symptoms of which are impaired memory and navigation (knowledge of the world and where one is).
  • Glutamate receptors are the neurochemical basis for learning, and their long term potential was first discovered in the hippocampus.
  • Henry Molaison (Patient HM) had surgery for epilepsy and following the removal of his hippocampus he developed anterograde amnesia.
  • Place Cells in the hippocampus respond selectively whenever an animal is in a specific 'place' in the region that corresponds with the cell's 'place field'.
  • Rats with hippocampal lesions cannot find the platform in the Morris water maze (Morris 1981).

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