hippocampus

American  

[hip-uh-kam-puhs] / ˌhɪp əˈkæm pəs /

noun

plural

hippocampi

1. Classical Mythology. a fish-tailed horse of the sea that was ridden by the sea gods.

2. Anatomy. an enfolding of cerebral cortex into the lateral fissure of a cerebral hemisphere, having a major role in learning, emotion, and memory, and named for the seahorse shape of its cross section.

---

hippocampus British  

/ ˌhɪpəʊˈkæmpəs /

noun

1. a mythological sea creature with the forelegs of a horse and the tail of a fish

2. any marine teleost fish of the genus Hippocampus, having a horselike head See sea horse

3. an area of cerebral cortex that forms a ridge in the floor of the lateral ventricle of the brain, which in cross section has the shape of a sea horse. It functions as part of the limbic system

---

hippocampus Scientific  

/ hĭp′ə-kăm′pəs /

plural

hippocampi

1. A convoluted, seahorse-shaped structure in the cerebral cortex of the temporal lobe of the brain, composed of two gyri with white matter above gray matter. It forms part of the limbic system and is involved in the processing of emotions and memory.

---

Other Word Forms

• hippocampal adjective

Etymology

Origin of hippocampus

First recorded in 1575–80; from Latin hippocampus, hippocampos, from Greek hippókampos, equivalent to hippo- hippo- + kámpos “sea monster”

Example Sentences

For their experiment, the pair identified brain cells in a mouse hippocampus that activated when the animal received a startling shock.

From Los Angeles Times

This included breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, damage to nerve fibers, chronic inflammation, reduced formation of new neurons in the hippocampus, weakened communication between brain cells, and extensive oxidative damage.

From Science Daily

Among the changes, the number of synapses increased in the hippocampus, a region involved in learning and memory.

From Science Daily

The healthy hippocampus, in contrast, showed a dense and interconnected network of fibers across the entire area.

From Science Daily

According to findings reported in Nature Communications, the CA1 section of a mouse's hippocampus contains four separate layers of specialized cell types.

From Science Daily