Evoked Potentials in the Hippocampus and Learning

Abstract

The hippocampus is a large forebrain structure that contains the major components of primitive cortex. Hippocampal cellular elements receive inputs from, and send outputs to, important areas of the brain stem (hypothalamus) and neocortex (entorhinal cortex). The exact nature of the functions subserved by the hippocampus in the mammalian brain has eluded neuroscientists for at least two decades. In recent years, however, major strides have been made in our understanding of the behavioral functions of the hippocampus. A new and emerging set of observations suggests that hippocampal electrical events bear a relationship to cognitive and perceptual factors, on the one hand, and conditioning and learning processes, on the other. These findings indicate that one of the main functions of this structure is to process sensory information relevant to both the behavioral and environmental context in which the animal exists at any one point in time.