The many dimensions of human hippocampal organization and (dys)function

Abstract

The internal organization of hippocampal formation has been studied for more than a century. Although early accounts emphasized its subfields along the medial-lateral axis, findings in recent decades have highlighted also the anterior-to-posterior (i.e., longitudinal) axis as a key contributor to this brain region's functional organization. Hence, understanding of hippocampal function likely demands characterizing both medial-to-lateral and anterior-to-posterior axes, an approach that has been concretized by recent advances in in vivo parcellation and gradient mapping techniques. Following a short historical overview, we review the evidence provided by these approaches in brain-mapping studies, as well as the perspectives they open for addressing the behavioral relevance of the interacting organizational axes in healthy and clinical populations.

Keywords: connectivity; disease; gradients; microstructure; parcellation; phenotype.