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Hippocampus Synthesis Essay: Declarative Memory

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When discussing memory the hippocampus is one of the most important aspects of the brain to consider. According to the Oxford dictionaries, the hippocampus is defined as, “the elongated ridges on the floor of each lateral ventricle of the brain, thought to be the center of emotion, memory, and the autonomic nervous system.” This piece of the brain is one that has been extensively researched in the past, but still presents neuroscience researchers with many unanswered questions. It is now widely accepted that the hippocampus is considered to “be essential for a specific kind of memory, known as declarative memory” ( Squire 1992). The declarative memory is defined by Dr. Squire as the explicit and relational aspects of memory and is not defined as the implicit memories that a person has. Squire continues to state that hippocampus is necessary in order for an organism to construct its entire memory. …show more content…

One question that Fred Gage, Adler Professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute, poses is can the stimulation of the hippocampus boost an organism’s entire memory and its overall cognitive function? Gage states that when this phenomenon is tested in aged mice, the hippocampus can be stimulated through physical exercise (Gage 2005). He continues and uses the data collected from his research to support his conclusion that once the hippocampus becomes stimulated, subjects will display lower acquisition times of new information and higher retention of previously presented

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