hippocampus
Americannoun
plural
hippocampi-
Classical Mythology. a fish-tailed horse of the sea that was ridden by the sea gods.
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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.
noun
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a mythological sea creature with the forelegs of a horse and the tail of a fish
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any marine teleost fish of the genus Hippocampus, having a horselike head See sea horse
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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
plural
hippocampiOther 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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Levels of cholesterol and glycogen varied across regions, with the most dramatic contrasts appearing in areas responsible for memory, particularly the hippocampus and cortex.
From Science Daily
Participants whose vascular indicators more closely resembled those of cognitively healthy adults tended to have lower amyloid levels and a larger hippocampus.
From Science Daily
This replay activity takes place in the hippocampus, a brain region essential for learning and memory.
From Science Daily
Although the hippocampus showed the strongest connection between volume loss and declining memory, many other areas of the brain were also involved.
From Science Daily
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
