Hippocampus anatomy These limbic structures include the hippocampus, cingulate cortex, olfactory cortex, and amygdala. Paul MacLean once suggested, as part of his triune brain theory, that the limbic structures constitute the neural basis of emotion. While most neuroscientists no longer believe in the concept of a unified "limbic system", these regions are highly interconnected and do interact with one another. Starting at the dentate gyrus and working inward along the S-curve of the hippocampus means traversing a series of narrow zones. The first of these, the dentate gyrus (DG), is actually a separate structure, a tightly packed layer of small granule cells
Hippocampus in 2011 found that aerobic exercise could increase the size of the hippocampus in adults aged 55 to 80 and also improve spatial memory. The hippocampus contains high levels of glucocorticoid receptors, which make it more vulnerable to long-term stress than most other brain areas. There is evidence that humans having experienced severe, long-lasting traumatic stress show atrophy of the hippocampus more than of other parts of the brain. These effects show up in post-traumatic stress disorder, and they may contribute to the hippocampal atrophy reported in schizophrenia and severe depression. A recent study has also revealed atrophy as a