The hippocampus is a brain structure associated with memory and is thought to mainly be involved in storing long-term memories and making those memories resistant to fading. (There’s some debate about that.) It also plays an important part in spatial navigation and orientation. The hippocampus is part of the brain most impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.¹²

Location

It is located in the inner region of the temporal lobe and is part of the limbic system.

Hippocampus Explainer Video

Here’s a short video with additional information:

Where’d It Get That Name?

The name for this influential brain part comes from the Greek word for seahorse. They share a similar shape.

In Greek mythology, the hippocamp had the upper body of a horse and lower body of a fish.

While we’re on the topic of Greek and Horses, these big critters get their name from the Greek language as well. Hippopotamus means river horse.

We’ve wandered from inner brain structures to large African mammals in this post. Probably time to wrap it up.

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1. https://www.britannica.com/science/hippocampus
2. https://neuroscientificallychallenged.com/posts/know-your-brain-hippocampus