What is the "hippocampus" and how does it factor into epilepsy?

What is the "hippocampus" and how does it factor into epilepsy?

Charles Ribak, Ph.D. (Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, UC Irvine School of Medicine) gives expert video advice on: What is the "cerebellum" and how does it factor into epilepsy?; What is the "frontal lobe" and how does it factor into epilepsy? and more...

The hippocampus is a structure found in the medial portion of the temporal lobe. It functions, normally, in learning and memory. Also, it's involved in spatial orientation, so when you're trying to locate the nearest McDonald's, you can more or less orient yourself, and you know where to make a right-hand turn, drive a few more blocks, make a left-hand turn, and there's your store. So this is all part of the function, the normal function, of the hippocampus.Now the hippocampus is set up in such a way that it has a lot of connections with other temporal structures, and also these structures have connections with other parts of the cerebral cortex. So if there is a burst of activity, a synchronized bursting of activity, of neurons in the hippocampus, this can lead to a seizure as well.