What is the hippocampus and its function?

Hippocampus is a complex brain structure embedded deep into temporal lobe. It has a major role in learning and memory. It is a plastic and vulnerable structure that gets damaged by a variety of stimuli. Studies have shown that it also gets affected in a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

How does hippocampus affect memory?

If the hippocampus is damaged by disease or injury, it can influence a person’s memories as well as their ability to form new memories. Hippocampus damage can particularly affect spatial memory, or the ability to remember directions, locations, and orientations.

How do you keep your hippocampus healthy?

Treating Hippocampus Damage (Helping the Brain Repair Itself)

1. Exercise. Exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, is one of the best ways to boost BDNF levels and improve hippocampal function.
2. Stimulate Your Brain. Keeping your brain stimulated can also increase hippocampus function.
3. Change Your Diet.

What are the 3 layers of the hippocampus?

The hippocampus has three distinct zones: the dentate gyrus, the hippocampus proper, and the subiculum—the dentate gyrus and hippocampus proper form two C-shaped rings that interlock. The subiculum is thus a transition zone, linking the hippocampus proper with the dentate gyrus.

How many hippocampus are in the brain?

two hippocampi
Because the brain is lateralized and symmetrical, you actually have two hippocampi. They are located just above each ear and about an inch-and-a-half inside your head.

How many regions are in the hippocampus?

three regions
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.

How many neurons are in the hippocampus?

And in a 1998 landmark study researchers reported the phenomenon in the adult human hippocampus. Another major study in 2013 corroborated those findings, estimating that about 1,400 hippocampal neurons are made daily in adult brains.

How many layers are in the hippocampus?

The cortex thins from six layers to the three or four layers that make up the hippocampus. The term hippocampal formation is used to refer to the hippocampus proper and its related parts.

Why is it called hippocampus?

Hippocampus, which literally means “horselike sea monster,” was also another word for a seahorse. The part of the brain is named after its resemblance to a seahorse, though the term was debated for many years before it became more common in the medical field.

What type of tissue is the hippocampus?

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.

Who created hippocampus?

In 1587, Julius Caesar Arantius (a.k.a. Giulio Cesare Aranzi, 1530-1589), a surgeon and anatomist whose pioneering work in the field included discovering different anatomical structures of the human body, discovered the part of the brain in question and compared its appearance to—you guessed it—a hippocampus, or …

What are the powers of the hippocampus?

Powers and Abilities

• Aquakinesis: The ability to control water to create Tidal Waves and, like the Water Dragon, shoot water out of their mouth the way a Fire Dragon breathes fire.
• Atmokinesis: Ability to control the weather.
• Immortality: Hippocampi can never die of “old age”.

Why is it called the hippocampus?

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.

What type of memory does the hippocampus store?

episodic memories
The hippocampus, located in the brain’s temporal lobe, is where episodic memories are formed and indexed for later access. Episodic memories are autobiographical memories from specific events in our lives, like the coffee we had with a friend last week.

How is the hippocampus involved 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 the role of the hippocampus in memory formation?

The hippocampus helps humans process and retrieve two kinds of memory, declarative memories and spatial relationships. 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.

What happens without hippocampus?

When the hippocampus is impaired, patients can’t develop new long-term memories. They also can’t remember some things that happened before the hippocampal damage, but do better with things that happened longer ago.

What can damage the hippocampus?

Damage to hippocampus can occur through many causes including head trauma, ischemia, stroke, status epilepticus and Alzheimer’s disease.