Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a region of the brain important for consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory, spatial navigation, and mood. The name hippocampus derives from the Greek word for seahorse, in that it mimics a seahorse in size and shape. The plural of hippocampus is hippocampi. The brain

Some parts of the hippocampus may be able to generate new nerve cells, a process called neurogenesis, to replace older hippocampus nerves. Brian neurogenesis was once believed to not exist in adults. If the hippocampus can not generate new cells because of illness or medication, poor memory and depression may result.

Exercise
Exercise, including aerobic training, has been shown to slightly increase the volume of the hippocampus, and help reduce age-related decline.

Role in ME/CFS
The hippocampus is shown to be damaged or atrophied in ME/CFS and fibromyalgia. Sleep disturbances common in ME/CFS and FM can, in turn, further impact the hippocampus and initiate a vicious circle of increased disability.

In 2014, researchers in Japan, at the RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, in collaboration with Osaka City University and Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, used functional PET imaging to show that levels of inflammation of the nervous system, are higher in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome than in healthy people. The researchers found that inflammation in certain areas of the brain—the cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, midbrain, and pons—was elevated in a way that correlated with the symptoms.

Since the hippocampus is negatively affected by emotional stress, some programs that are suggested as a treatment for ME/CFS emphasize stress reduction, for example meditation, biofeedback , and yoga , although no stress management or mental health treatment for ME/CFS has established clear positive results. Anxiety and stress are not considered diagnostic symptoms of ME/CFS.

Learn more

 * 2020, Neuroanatomy, Limbic System - StatPearls
 * 2015, You can Grow New Brain Cells - Here's How - Sandrine Thuret, Ted Talk
 * 2016, Neural plasticity and behavior – sixty years of conceptual advances - Journal of Neurochemistry