Time (and space) in the hippocampus

Abstract

There is considerable recent evidence that, in addition to its representation of space, the hippocampus also represents the temporal organization of memories. Time plays a central role in episodic memory, and studies have identified the hippocampus as playing an essential role in the temporal organization of memories in humans and animals. Temporal organization is supported by a gradually changing temporal context signal in the hippocampus, and this changing context signal involves "time cells" in the hippocampus that code sequential moments in temporally organized experiences. Finally, hippocampal temporal context representations mechanisms in intrinsic circuitry and oscillatory patterns throughout hippocampal subfields and likely depend on inputs from parahippocampal cortical areas and a widespread temporal processing system in the neocortex.