[Source:  Medical News Today]

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have determined that a small region of the hippocampus known as CA2 is essential for social memory, the ability of an animal to recognize another of the same species. A better grasp of the function of CA2 could prove useful in understanding and treating disorders characterized by altered social behaviors, such as autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. The findings, made in mice, were published today in the online edition of Nature.
Scientists have long understood that the hippocampus – a pair of seahorse-shaped structures in the brain’s temporal lobes – plays a critical role in our ability to remember the who, what, where, and when of our daily lives. Recent studies have shown that different subregions of the hippocampus have different functions. For instance, the dentate gyrus is critical for distinguishing between similar environments, while CA3 enables us to recall a memory from partial cues (e.g., Proust’s famous madeleine). The CA1 region is critical for all forms of memory.
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