Hippocampus

Cross-sectional diagram of the limbic system

The Hippocampus (pl.: hippocampi; via Latin from Greek ἱππόκαμπος, 'seahorse') is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus is part of the Limbic System, and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory, and in spatial memory that enables navigation. The hippocampus is located in the allocortex, with neural projections into the neocortex, in humans as well as other primates. The hippocampus, as the medial pallium, is a structure found in all vertebrates. In humans, it contains two main interlocking parts: the hippocampus proper (also called Ammon's horn), and the dentate gyrus.

Hippocampus. Images are from Anatomography maintained by Life Science Databases(LSDB).

In Alzheimer's disease (and other forms of dementia), the Hippocampus is one of the first regions of the brain to suffer damage; short-term memory loss and disorientation are included among the early symptoms. Damage to the hippocampus can also result from oxygen starvation (hypoxia), encephalitis, or medial temporal lobe epilepsy. People with extensive, bilateral hippocampal damage may experience anterograde amnesia: the inability to form and retain new memories.

Since different neuronal cell types are neatly organized into layers in the hippocampus, it has frequently been used as a model system for studying neurophysiology. The form of neural plasticity known as long-term potentiation (LTP) was initially discovered to occur in the hippocampus and has often been studied in this structure. LTP is widely believed to be one of the main neural mechanisms by which memories are stored in the brain.

In rodents as model organisms, the hippocampus has been studied extensively as part of a brain system responsible for spatial memory and navigation. Many neurons in the rat and mouse hippocampus respond as place cells: that is, they fire bursts of action potentials when the animal passes through a specific part of its environment. Hippocampal place cells interact extensively with head direction cells, whose activity acts as an inertial compass, and conjecturally with grid cells in the neighboring entorhinal cortex.

Role in memory

Psychologists and neuroscientists generally agree that the hippocampus plays an important role in the formation of new memories about experienced events (episodic or autobiographical memory). Part of this function is hippocampal involvement in the detection of new events, places and stimuli.[57] Some researchers regard the hippocampus as part of a larger medial temporal lobe memory system responsible for general declarative memory (memories that can be explicitly verbalized – these would include, for example, memory for facts in addition to episodic memory). The hippocampus also encodes emotional context from the amygdala. This is partly why returning to a location where an emotional event occurred may evoke that emotion. There is a deep emotional connection between episodic memories and places.

Theta rhythm

The underlying currents producing the theta wave are generated mainly by densely packed neural layers of the entorhinal cortex, CA3, and the dendrites of pyramidal cells. The theta wave is one of the largest signals seen on EEG, and is known as the hippocampal theta rhythm.

Limbic System

The areas of the Amygdala and Hippocampus in the Limbic System provide the foundation for emotional states that connect us to the higher sensory perception levels where we connect with positive spiritual and mystical experiences during our meditative states. This means that through practicing meditation and cultivating stillness of the mind, we can develop mental skills and strengthen our brain to overpower artificial input towards negative emotions and replace them with positive states, by training ourselves to hold inner stillness and a clear mind. Going into deeper meditation to generate inner stillness works to clear emotional negativity and dissolve neuronal entrainment to negativity in our amygdala through the mere focus of going inside ourselves and holding meditative stillness. In the nothingness of the inner void, we are the eternal light within the complete absence of any unpleasant emotion or thought, just existing in the moment as pure stillness, peace and calm.

When we decide to be the master of our own thoughts and emotions, we then become the master of our own brains and these artificial frequencies and fears will cease to disturb us. This can be achieved through a simple daily Meditation practice in which inner stillness and focusing on breath is emphasized, which is suggested to maintain inner peace during these incredibly chaotic times.