Hippocampus, spatio-temporal context and episodic memory

[Neil Burgess - Anatomy UCL London]

Several of the recent contributions to this list have considerd the 
relationship between the hippocampus and episodic and spatial memory. 
These appear to be converging on idea of the hippocampus providing a spatial
(and perhaps temporal) context in which events are embedded, so as
to form an episodic memory and facilitate their subsequent recall. 

This view of the role of the (right) human hippocampus was presented as 
part of O'Keefe and Nadel's idea of the hippocampus as a cognitve map
(for a concise discussion see O'Keefe and Nadel, 1979; pp 493 and 527).
Further discussion of this point of view, and the relationship between
hippocampal and parietal regions in spatial and mnemonic tasks can be 
found in the introduction and several of the chapters of the forthcoming
book (see below).

Best wishes,

Neil


O'Keefe and Nadel (1979) The Behavioural and Brain Sciences 2, 487-533
(Precis of The hippocampus as a cognitive map, and peer commentary).

The Hippocampal and Parietal Foundations of Spatial Cognition
(Eds: N Burgess, KJ Jeffery and J O'Keefe) Oxford University Press 
(1998 - should be out in time for the Soc. Neurosci. conference).


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Dr Neil Burgess                        
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience & Dept. of Anatomy
University College London              
London WC1E 6BT, U.K.                  
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