GATED INFORMATIONAL TRANSFER WITHIN THE MAMMALIAN HIPPOCAMPUS - A NEWHYPOTHESIS

Presented here is a position paper that advocates a novel and testable hypothesis concerning the role and function of the mammalian hippocam pal formation especially with regards to neonatal neural development. The present paper is based upon recent electrophysiological and bioche mical studies of the developing rabbit hippocampus and proposes that b y gating the transfer of sensory information through the trisynaptic c ircuit, the hippocampus allows, in a permissive sense, the buildup of cognitive maps, either in the hippocampus itself, or in other brain lo ci such as the neocortex. The model makes certain predictions that can be experimentally tested and therefore may prove useful for organizin g future data in research into hippocampal function.