When
Lynn Nadel
Regents Professor Emeritus, Psychology
University of Arizona
Hippocampus: Action at a Distance
Abstract: The hippocampal formation provides the core of a context-based memory system that enables actions at both spatial and temporal removes. It does this by creating representations of context – what O'Keefe and I labelled 'cognitive maps', that are critical to acting at a distance. Most simply, these internal maps allow organisms to act on the basis of entities (objects, people, goals, etc) that are at some distance, and not within visible, audible or olfactory range. Context representations support environment re-identification, allowing animals to correctly link up information gathered in the same environment over multiple occasions separated by significant temporal gaps. They support, as well, retrieval of contextually-appropriate knowledge, bringing information gathered in the past to bear on present behavior and future planning. My talk will review evidence in support of these assertions about the hippocampus, and consider various implications of its role in action at a distance.