hippocampus

noun

hip·​po·​cam·​pus ˌhi-pə-ˈkam-pəs 

plural hippocampi ˌhi-pə-ˈkam-ˌpī 

-(ˌ)pē

: a curved elongated ridge that extends over the floor of the descending horn of each lateral ventricle of the brain, that consists of gray matter covered on the ventricular surface with white matter, and that is involved in forming, storing, and processing memory

hippocampal

ˌhi-pə-ˈkam-pəl 

adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The important factors that keep showing up involve a combination of stress, emotion, lack of sleep and change in routine…What happens is that the memory circuits in a vulnerable hippocampus literally get overwritten, like with a computer program. —Heather Wishart-smith, Forbes, 7 June 2022

This result challenges previous studies, using other methods, that did report adult neurogenesis in the human hippocampus. —Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 14 Mar. 2018

The hippocampus, a brain structure highly associated with learning and memory, aged by about a year in a 60-year-old person who had one site of chronic pain compared with people with no pain. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 20 Feb. 2023

From there, information goes to the amygdala, a part of the brain that governs emotional responses; the hippocampus, a structure involved in memory; and the frontal cortex, which handles cognitive processing. —IEEE Spectrum, 17 Oct. 2022

Imke Kirste recently found that silence was hugely beneficial to the hippocampus, that part of the brain associated with learning and memory. —Jane Sparrow, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2023

People with Alzheimer's often have a shriveled hippocampus as the organ loses tissue and shrinks. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 22 Aug. 2022

The hippocampus is the part of the brain that deals with memory and navigation, among other things. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 1 Feb. 2021

There are experimental medicines, one of which our lab is working on, that stimulate neurogenesis in the hippocampus, the brain’s memory hub. —Gary Stix, Scientific American, 27 Jan. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek hippokampos seahorse, from hippos horse + kampos sea monster — more at equine

First Known Use

1695, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

hippocampus

noun

hip·​po·​cam·​pus ˌhip-ə-ˈkam-pəs 

plural hippocampi -ˌpī  -(ˌ)pē 

: a curved elongated ridge that is an important part of the limbic system, extends over the floor of the descending horn of each lateral ventricle of the brain, consists of gray matter covered on the ventricular surface with white matter, and is involved in forming, storing, and processing memory see pes hippocampi