Question:
What does the Hippocampus do?
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It turns short-term memories into long-term ones.
This is one of the best-understood hippocampal functions.
See any neurology text or even an encyclopedia listing for the hippocampus
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It recognizes objects
Wood,
Emma, R. ; Mumby, Dave G. Pinel, John P.J.; Phillips, Anthony G. "Impaired Object Recognition Memory in Rats
following ischemia-induced damage to the hippocampus" Behavioral
Neuroscience v107, n1 (Feb, 1993) : 51 (12 pages)
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It helps us do "Cognition", both verbal and nonverbal.
Muller,
Robert U.; "The Hippocampus as a cognitive Graph." Journal
of General Physiology v107 n6 (June, 1996) : 663
(32 pages)
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It processes music, and recognizes patterns.
This is one of the better-understood hippocampal functions.
See any neurology text or even an encyclopedia listing for the hippocampus for more information
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It responds to childhood abuse as it grows.
(The left hippocampus is typically 12% smaller than the right in childhood abuse victims.)
Bremner,
J. Douglas; Randal, Penny; Vermetten, Eric; Staib, Lawrence; et.al. "Magnetic Resonance imaging-based measurement
of hippocampal volume in post traumatic stress disorder related to childhood physical and sexual abuse: A preliminary
Report." Biological Psychiatry, 1997, Jan, v41 (n1) : 23-32
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It helps us to remember faces.
, Gary, Smith, Michael E, Halogen, Eric. "Neural
Encoding of individual words and faces by the human hippocampus and amygdala." Nature, v333,
n6175 (June 23, 1988) : 773 (3 pages)
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It retrieves long-term memories of events and places
Kesner,
Raymond P. "An attribute analysis of memory: The role of the Hippocampus." Physiological Pychologgy,
1980, Jun, v8, (n2) : 189-197
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It atrophies under stress
Sapolsky,
Robert M. "Why stress is bad for your brain" Science, 1996, Aug, v273 (n5276) : 749-750
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It supports the experience of novelty, so that new
things are exciting.
Knight,
Robert T, "Contribution of the Human Hippocampus to novelty detection" Nature, 1996, Sep, v383 (n6597)
: 256-259
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On the left, it helps with verbal learning.
Lee,
Gregory P. Loring, David W. Smith, Joseph R.; Flanigan, Herman F., "Material specific learning during electrical
stimulation of the Human Hippocampus." Cortex 1990 sep v26 (n3) : 433-442
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On the right, it helps spatial learning.
Bower,
B. "Brain region takes a hack at navigation. (Navigational information is processed in the right hippocampus...)
Science News v152 n13 (sept 27, 1997) : 198
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On the right, it produces pleasant experiences under magnetic
signal stimulation (including inner visual imagery in some subjects)
Persinger,
Michael A., ; Richards, Pauline M.; Koren, Stanley A. "Differential ratings of pleasantness following right
and left application of low-energy magnetic fields that stimulate long-term potentiation" International journal of neuroscience , 1994 Dec, v79 )n3-4) : 191-197 -and- Unpublished lab results
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Additional Information:
Use of the Hippocampal signal sometimes creates headaches and lethargy.
These are temporary effects, that occur when sessions are done once a week. These are more a sensation of presure,
than a normal headache. They do not recurr after the third or fourth weekly session, and they respond to common
over-the-counter headache medicines.
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