Lexic.us

Definition of Hippocampus

1. Noun. A complex neural structure (shaped like a sea horse) consisting of grey matter and located on the floor of each lateral ventricle; intimately involved in motivation and emotion as part of the limbic system; has a central role in the formation of memories.

Definition of Hippocampus

1. n. A fabulous monster, with the head and fore quarters of a horse joined to the tail of a dolphin or other fish (Hippocampus brevirostris), -- seen in Pompeian paintings, attached to the chariot of Neptune.

Definition of Hippocampus

1. [n -CAMPI]

Medical Definition of Hippocampus

1. Area of mammallian brain and an important preparation for the study of synaptic plasticity. The hippocampus has been known since the 1950s to be important for long term memory storage in humans and other mammals, it is essential for initial storing of long-term memory for a period of days to weeks before the memory trace is consolidated elsewhere. Also the site of long-term synaptic plasticity: see long-term potentiation, which is exhibited by defined synaptic pathways in the hippocampus. This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Hippocampus

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