Hippocampal subfield contributions to episodic memory loss in amnesia

The hippocampus is a brain region that is important for helping us recall our past experiences, which are known as episodic memories. Research in non-humans has generated several computational theories about how hippocampal damage causes episodic memory loss. It is not completely clear, however, whether these theories are relevant to human memory. Damage involving just the human hippocampi is rare, making research into these theories challenging. I have assembled a group of rare human patients with focal hippocampal damage. I will translate what is known from animal research into these patients using cutting-edge behavioural tests and brain imaging techniques. This will enable me to understand how such lesions impact normal hippocampal function and its interaction with other brain regions during memory retrieval. This work will also contribute novel methods for detecting hippocampal dysfunction that may have possible applications in the future for the early detection of pathologies such as dementia.