Hippocampus Research Paper

Since it is close structurally to the hippocampus, the amygdala is involved in controlling memory consolidation, especially emotional memories; when a memory is emotionally charged, it has a better retention rate than one that is not. The hippocampus is generally seen as having an essential role in the creation of new memories about past experiences; it's even responsible for memories that can be verbalized also known as declarative memory. Damage to it result in difficulties in forming new memories and being able to access new memories formed before the

(Catherine E. Myers 2008.) The hippocampus is basically the part of your brain that allows new information to pass. If it weren't for this, we couldn't permanently store information and remember for most of our life. If this part of your brain is damaged, new information cannot enter, but information that is already passed through the hippocampus is safe.(Catherine E. Myers 2008.) This hippocampus can be damaged as a result of near drowning, epilepsy, early stages of Alzheimer's disease, hypoxia, and even normal aging. (Catherine E. Myers 2008.) Anterograde Amnesia can also cause damage to the basal forebrain. The basal forebrain is "a group of structures which produce acetylcholine, a chemical which helps cells in the brain store new information during learning." The basal forebrain can be damaged if the anterior communicating artery which basically is the supply blood line of basal forebrain is affected. The third thing Anterograde Amnesia can damage is the diencephalon which is a "set of structures deep in the brain including the medical thalamic nuclei"(Catherine E. Myers 2008.) There

Hippocampus is a small, curved region, which exists in both hemispheres of the brain and plays a vital role in emotions, learning and acquisition of new information. It also contributes majorly to long term memory, which is permanent information stored in the brain. Although long term memory is the last information that can be forgotten, its impairment has become very common nowadays. The dysfunction is exemplified by many neurological disorders such as amnesia. There are two types of amnesia, anterograde and retrograde. Anterograde amnesia is inability in forming new information, while retrograde refers to the loss of the past memory. As suggested by Cipolotti and Bird (2006), hippocampus’s lesions are

The brain develops in such a way that it leaves itself vulnerable to these negative influences. The prenatal brain develops an overabundance of neurons, some of which are then carefully eliminated before age 4 (5). In a process similar to this, the amount of synapses between neurons is built up during early childhood and then pruned back for the next 30 years of life (5). These two processes are both disturbed by elevated levels of stress hormones (5). The two centers of the brain with the most postnatal changes, including the growth of new neurons after birth, are the hippocampus, which is part of the limbic system, and the cerebellar vermis (6). The hippocampus is in charge of creating and retrieving memories, working together with the other parts of the limbic system, such as the amygdala, which records the emotions for each memory. The vermis controls the production and release of two of the catecholamine neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine (6). Both the vermis and the limbic system have higher concentrations of receptors for the stress hormone cortisol than anywhere else in the brain (6). Due to this fact, these still-developing areas are the most vulnerable to the damage done by elevated levels of stress hormones.

“Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes. These neurons, which produce the brain chemical, or neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, break connections with other nerve cells and ultimately die. For example, short-term memory fails when Alzheimer's disease first destroys nerve cells in the hippocampus” (Alzheimer’s Association Foundation.) The destruction of the hippocampus is very serious because the hippocampus is a structure in the brain’s limbic system that plays an important part role in memory (Ettinger 91.) Its is responsible for forming organizing and storing memories.It connects the memories to structures and senses like smell and sound. “The hippocampus is a horseshoe shaped paired structure, with one hippocampus located in the left brain hemisphere and the other in the right hemisphere. The hippocampus acts as a

Primary hippocampal and cortical cultures were prepared from the brains of embryonic day 18-21 CD1 mice (Jackson Laboratories). Housing, animal care and experimental procedures were consistent with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Scripps Research Institute. Cells were plated at a density of 15-20K per well on poly-D-lysine-coated (0.1 mg/ml) 96-well plates, according to procedures described previously (Liu et al, 2014). Briefly, isolated hippocampi and cortices were digested with 0.6 mg/ml papain in 1× HBSS at 37°C for 15 min. Dissociated cells were plated in Neurobasal medium (Invitrogen) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and penicillin/streptomycin mix and grown in Neurobasal medium supplemented with 2% B27 (Invitrogen), 0.5 mM glutamine, and penicillin/streptomycin mix at 37°C in 5% CO2. At 4 days in vitro (DIV4), one half of the media were removed and replaced with an equal volume of fresh media and the same protocol for medium change was performed every 4 days.

A Review of " Intrinsic Hippocampal Activity as a Biomarker for Cognition and Symptoms in Schizophrenia"

The prefrontal cortex is the most anterior region of the frontal lobe. It occupies one-third of the cerebral cortex and is key for executive functions such as problem solving, working memory, and emotional control. It is also crucial in decision making and the expression of personality. The prefrontal cortex is imperative for efficient cognitive functioning; damage can result in severe impairment to skills such as emotional regulation, moral behavior, and empathy.

As a human get older, many of the organs will deteriorate and lost the functions. Out of all of the organs, our brains are extremely vulnerable to the process of aging. In the article of “Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice”, the researchers leaded by Saul Villeda in University of California, San Francisco, focus on the study of physical and functional property of the hippocampus in mice. Hippocampus manages the learning and memory process. However, it is extremely sensitive to aging and shows many down regulations as the brain ages. The study had also revealed the important role of Creb, which maintain hippocampus properly functional and healthy. Two different assays were used to study the role of Creb in the cognitive function and synaptic plasticity which includes testing hippocampus-related memorizing and learning processes and measuring the dendritic spine number and synaptic plasticity.

Several aspects of aging can be debilitating for the elderly population, as they often include loneliness, general decline, and lack of social support (Anisman, 2014). The senior population, already at large, is projected to surpass that of other age groups and increase the burden on our health care system. Only a small proportion of individuals age successfully, with the majority experiencing a spectrum of cognitive impairments that can manifest into neurodegenerative disorders. This is due to a broad range of factors, including genetic and environmental determinants that ultimately shape the aging process. The hippocampus, a subcortical brain region, is responsible for mediating memory consolidation, spatial navigation, and to some extent learning (Kolb and Whishaw, 2013). It is particularly impaired in old individuals and the focus of numerous experiments aimed at delaying degeneration or alternatively enhancing neurogenesis. This limbic structure is readily influenced by the stress response, namely the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis (Kolb and Whishaw, 2013). Aged individuals tend to exhibit elevated levels of corticosteroids, which promote hippocampal deterioration (Cameron and McKay, 1999). A specific region within the hippocampus, the dentate gyrus, is unique in that it not only succumbs to such effects but continues to undergo neurogenesis (Cameron and McKay, 1999). However, the rate of neurogenesis is reduced if not inhibited in old

Doctors and scientists dispute the exact role of the hippocampus, but agree that it has an essential role in the formation of new memories about personally experienced events. Some researchers prefer to consider the hippocampus as part of a larger medial temporal lobe memory system responsible for declarative memory. When a long-term, declarative memory is made, certain neuronal connections in the temporal lobe are strengthened, and others are weakened. These changes are fairly permanent, however some may take weeks or months before they are complete

There are two essential learning sections in the brain, the hippocampus and the striatum (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011). Focused learners are individuals who pay full attention in class and are not easily distracted by their mobile devices. These individuals utilize the hippocampus which is typically the heart of the memory and the learning center of the brain. These students have the ability of thinking in high level scenarios and typically end up with higher paying jobs than those that are categorized as multitaskers (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011). Multitaskers are those that do two or three things at once and are therefore not focusing on getting one task accomplished (Boyd, 2014). Such students use the area of the brain known as the striatum. This manner of learning is not an adverse learning approach; however, this area of the brain is for learning habits.

involved in memory storage. The hippocampus is a place in the brain that is used to

The hippocampus is is involved with serious mental illnesses, such as severe depression and schizophrenia, as well as Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer’s attacks the hippocampus first and most harshly before other parts of the brain, causing confusion and loss of memory, and during severe depression the hippocampus appears to shrink. The hippocampus shrinkage isn’t permanent and can be reversed with effective treatment.