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Cited by 1,879Memory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and InfluencesNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

Episodic memory, amnesia, and the hippocampal–anterior thalamic axis

Aggleton, John P., Brown, Malcolm W.·1999·Behavioral and Brain Sciences
DOI 10.1017/s0140525x99002034
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Abstract

By utilizing new information from both clinical and experimental (lesion, electrophysiological, and gene-activation) studies with animals, the anatomy underlying anterograde amnesia has been reformulated. The distinction between temporal lobe and diencephalic amnesia is of limited value in that a common feature of anterograde amnesia is damage to part of an “extended hippocampal system” comprising the hippocampus, the fornix, the mamillary bodies, and the anterior thalamic nuclei. This view, which can be traced back to Delay and Brion (1969), differs from other recent models in placing critical importance on the efferents from the hippocampus via the fornix to the diencephalon. These are necessary for the encoding and, hence, the effective subsequent recall of episodic memory. An additional feature of this hippocampal–anterior thalamic axis is the presence of projections back from the diencephalon to the temporal cortex and hippocampus that also support episodic memory. In contrast, this hippocampal system is not required for tests of item recognition that primarily tax familiarity judgements. Familiarity judgements reflect an independent process that depends on a distinct system involving the perirhinal cortex of the temporal lobe and the medial dorsal nucleus of the thalamus. In the large majority of amnesic cases both the hippocampal–anterior thalamic and the perirhinal–medial dorsal thalamic systems are compromised, leading to severe deficits in both recall and recognition.

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Crossref · 10.1017/s0140525x99002034

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417 of 417 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Damage to the fornix, as well as the anterior thalamus, causes anterograde amnesia in humans.

    “Furthermore, damage to the fornix, as well as the anterior thalamus, causes anterograde amnesia in humans (Aggleton and Brown, 1999; Aggleton et al., 2000; Carlesimo et al., 2011; Gaffan and Gaffan, 1991).”

    From The cingulum bundle: Anatomy, function, and dysfunction (2018) · cites this paper as Aggleton and Brown, 1999

  • The anterior thalamic nuclei are critical components of the pathology responsible for diencephalic amnesia.

    “the anterior thalamic nuclei are seen as critical components of the pathology responsible for diencephalic amnesia (Aggleton and Brown, 1999; Carlesimo et al., 2011).”

    From The cingulum bundle: Anatomy, function, and dysfunction (2018) · cites this paper as Aggleton and Brown, 1999

  • In patients with hippocampal damage, semantic memory largely remains intact but severe deficits in episodic memory are observed.

    “This separation is true of other amnesic patients, especially those resulting from hippocampal damage, whereby semantic memory largely remains intact but severe deficits in episodic memory are observed [6–9].”

    From Is episodic-like memory <i>like</i> episodic memory? (2024) · cites this paper as [9]

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Authors
Aggleton, J. P., & Brown, M. W.
Affiliations
  • Cardiff University (GB)
  • University of Bristol (GB)
ORCID
Aggleton, John P.
Venue
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
1999-06
Volume
22
Issue
3
Pages
425-444
ISSN
  • 0140-525X (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-1825
DOI
10.1017/s0140525x99002034
OpenAlex
W2154521931
Cited by
1,879
References
417
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 55 · 2018: 68 · 2017: 62 · 2016: 65 · 2015: 84 · 2014: 69 · 2013: 79 · 2012: 90
FWCI
38.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Behavioral and Brain Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
episodic memory, anterograde amnesia, hippocampus, anterior thalamic nuclei, fornix, mammillary bodies, diencephalon, familiarity, recognition memory, perirhinal cortex
MeSH terms
Amnesia, Hippocampus, Humans, Memory, Short-Term, Models, Neurological, Neural Pathways, Mental Recall, Temporal Lobe, Thalamus, Anterior Thalamic Nuclei, Midline Thalamic Nuclei, Fornix, Brain, Recognition, Psychology

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