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REVIEW article

Front. Cognit.
Sec. Memory
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcogn.2024.1497281
This article is part of the Research Topic Synthesizing Memory: Integrating Across Fields and Levels of Scale View all articles

Evolving Perspectives of Medial Temporal Memory Function: Hippocampal Processes in Visual and Auditory Forms of Episodic and Working Memory

Provisionally accepted
Chris Hawkins Chris Hawkins *Andrew Yonelinas Andrew Yonelinas
  • University of California, Davis, Davis, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    A cornerstone of memory science is the finding that the medial temporal lobe plays a critical role in supporting episodic long-term memory. However, the role that this brain region plays in supporting other forms of memory such as working memory is controversial. In this selective review, we describe some of the key studies that have informed our current understanding of the role that the medial temporal lobe plays in working memory. We first describe the early studies that supported the idea that the medial temporal lobe is selectively important for long-term episodic memory function, then discuss the subsequent research that indicated that the hippocampus also plays a critical role in visual perception and visual working memory. We then review more recent work suggesting that the medial temporal lobe, and particularly the hippocampus, is critical in supporting a familiarity-based memory signal in working memory, and we propose that this function may not be limited to the visual domain, but rather may support familiarity for auditory working memory as well.

    Keywords: working memory, Familiarity, Recollection, Hippocampus, visual working memory, auditory working memory, medial temporal lobe, Amnesia

    Received: 16 Sep 2024; Accepted: 25 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hawkins and Yonelinas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Chris Hawkins, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.