The Hippocampus Book

Abstract

Abstract The hippocampus is one of a group of remarkable structures embedded within the brain's medial temporal lobe. Long known to be important for memory, it has been a prime focus of neuroscience research for many years. This book aims to facilitate developments in the field in a major way by bringing together contributions by leading international scientists knowledgeable about hippocampal anatomy, physiology, and function. This book offers an up-to-date account of what the hippocampus does, how it does it, and what happens when things go wrong. At the same time, it illustrates how research focusing on this single brain structure has revealed principles of wider generality for the whole brain in relation to anatomical connectivity, synaptic plasticity, cognition and behavior, and computational algorithms. Well-organized in its presentation of both theory and experimental data, this book illustrates the astonishing progress that has been made in unraveling the workings of the brain.