Social memory in the hippocampus

摘要

Years of research have suggested and assigned various functions to the CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus, but the function of the smaller CA2 region (pictured in green above) has remained obscure. Using a transgenic mouse that allows specific manipulations of CA2 hippocampal neurons, Frederick Hitti and Steven Siegelbaum map the specific cortical inputs to the CA2 region and determine that CA2 neuron inactivation can lead to a severe deficit in social memory, while having no effects on other well-known hippocampal functions such as contextual or spatial memory. The authors speculate that deficits in CA2 function may contribute to the social problems of individuals with autism or schizophrenia.