Hippocampus Hippocampus The hippocampus (named after its resemblance to the seahorse, from the Greek ἱππόκαμπος, "seahorse" from ἵππος "hippos", "horse" and κάμπος "kampos", "sea monster") is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory, and in spatial memory that enables navigation. The hippocampus is located under the cerebral cortex (allocortical) and in primates in the medial temporal lobe. It contains two main
Long-term impact of alcohol on the brain in the acetylation of histones H3 and H4 in the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and striatum, suggesting chromatin remodeling changes which may mediate long-term alterations. Additionally, adolescent rats pre-exposed to ethanol have higher basal levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, along with a prolonged dopamine response in this area in response to a challenge dose of ethanol. Together, these results suggest that alcohol exposure during adolescence can sensitize the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine pathways to cause changes in dopaminergic and glutamatergic signaling, which may affect the remodeling and functions of the adolescent brain. These changes are significant as alcohol’s