Hippocampus News and Research

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The hippocampus is a part of the forebrain, located in the medial temporal lobe. It belongs to the limbic system and plays major roles in short term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain.

Study: People with schizophrenia have weakened sense of body ownership

A study using a procedure called the rubber hand illusion has found striking new evidence that people experiencing schizophrenia have a weakened sense of body ownership and has produced the first case of a spontaneous, out-of-body experience in the laboratory.

1 Nov 2011

Microglia plays a key role in memory and learning

Immune system cells of the brain, which scavenge pathogens and damaged neurons, are also key players in memory and learning, according to new research by Duke neuroscientists.

27 Oct 2011

EMA, FDA endorse use of biomarkers in Alzheimer's drug trials

A news feature in Alzforum explains the impact of new guidelines for selecting volunteers in clinical trials of Alzheimer's drugs. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European counterpart to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has endorsed the use of biomarkers—substances in the body or measurements that serve as indicators of disease—to select patients to be included in drug trials.

20 Oct 2011

Hippocampus plays an active role in suppressing pain during times of stress

New findings about how the brain functions to suppress pain have been published in the leading journal Pain, by NUI Galway researchers. For the first time, it has been shown that the hippocampus of the brain, which is usually associated with memory, has an active role to play in suppressing pain during times of stress.

13 Oct 2011

New insight into mechanisms of hippocampal rhythms

A research team from Berlin, Munich and Haifa has presented new findings concerning the function of the hippocampus, a region of the brain that is important for memory formation.

7 Oct 2011

Viewing computer images causes long-term changes in nerve cell connections

Viewing two-dimensional images of the environment, as they occur in computer games, leads to sustained changes in the strength of nerve cell connections in the brain.

27 Sep 2011

Researchers identify micro-RNA that regulates learning processes, Alzheimer's

Proteins are the molecular machines of the cell. They transport materials, cleave products or transmit signals - and for a long time, they have been a main focus of attention in molecular biology research. In the last two decades, however, another class of critically important molecules has emerged: small RNA molecules, including micro-RNAs. It is now well established that micro-RNAs play a key role in the regulation of cell function."A micro-RNA regulates the production of an estimated 300-400 proteins.

26 Sep 2011

Zinc plays a critical role in regulating communication between brain cells

Zinc has been found to play a critical role in regulating communication between cells in the brain, possibly governing the formation of memories and controlling the occurrence of epileptic seizures.

22 Sep 2011

Advertisements seduce consumers to buy products

Are you wooed by advertising? Of course you are. After all, it's one thing to go out and buy a new washing machine after the old one exploded, quite another to impulse-buy that 246-inch flat screen TV that just maybe, in hindsight, you didn't really need.

21 Sep 2011

Researchers identify abnormal hippocampal blood flow in veterans with Gulf War illness

Blood flow abnormalities found in the brains of veterans with Gulf War illness have persisted 20 years after the war, and in some cases have gotten worse, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

14 Sep 2011

Running may trigger the production of new brain cells throughout life, research shows

Researchers have, for the first time, isolated exercise as the key factor in triggering the production of functional new cells in the learning and memory centre of the brain.

7 Sep 2011

Scientists discover two opposing neuronal regulatory circuits for generation, elimination of fear

Emotional balance is regulated by molecular factors behind stress response. When healthy people are faced with threatening situations, they react with a suitable behavioural response and do not descend into a state of either panic or indifference, as is the case, for example, with patients who suffer from anxiety.

7 Sep 2011

Study reveals striking brain similarities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital have conducted a study which has found striking brain similarities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The research has also pinpointed for the first time that a process which controls how information is transmitted from neuron to neuron in the brain is altered in both conditions and may potentially contribute to the developments of improved treatments in the future.

25 Aug 2011

Hippocampus neurons encode every sequential moment in series of events

The hippocampus is a brain structure that plays a major role in the process of memory formation. It is not entirely clear how the hippocampus manages to string together events that are part of the same experience but are separated by "empty" periods of time. Now, new research published by Cell Press in the August 25 issue of the journal Neuron finds that there are neurons in the hippocampus that encode every sequential moment in a series of events that compose a discrete experience.

25 Aug 2011

Researchers discover how antipsychotic drugs manage symptoms of schizophrenia

The classic symptoms of schizophrenia - paranoia, hallucinations, the inability to function socially-can be managed with antipsychotic drugs. But exactly how these drugs work has long been a mystery.

25 Aug 2011

Seeing provides the big picture, but exploration burns it into memory

Seeing and exploring both are necessary for stability in a person's episodic memory when taking in a new experience, say University of Oregon researchers.

23 Aug 2011

IRSF announces new Rett syndrome translational research awards

The International Rett Syndrome Foundation (IRSF) announced today that it is awarding over $650,000 to support eight cutting-edge projects that aim to accelerate translational research to develop treatments for Rett syndrome.

19 Aug 2011

Positive link between fish oil supplements and cognitive function

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center have found positive associations between fish oil supplements and cognitive functioning as well as differences in brain structure between users and non-users of fish oil supplements.

18 Aug 2011

U-M's epilepsy surgery could successfully treat patients with seizures

John Ligerakis was told he had to learn to live with seizures that had made it challenging for him to work or drive a car. A young professional just starting his career, Ligerakis was devastated about what his future might bring.

17 Aug 2011

Regular exercise could help prevent brain damage linked with Alzheimer's

Regular exercise could help prevent brain damage associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, according to research published this month in Elsevier's journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

16 Aug 2011