What is the entorhinal cortex?

The entorhinal cortex (EC) is a critical element of the hippocampal formation located within the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in primates. The EC has historically received attention for being the primary mediator of cortical information going into and coming from the hippocampus proper.

What is the role of the entorhinal cortex?

The entorhinal cortex (EC) is an area of the brain’s allocortex, located in the medial temporal lobe, whose functions include being a widespread network hub for memory, navigation, and the perception of time.

Is the thalamus in the sensory cortex?

A significant portion of the incoming fibers to the thalamus come not from sensory systems, but from the cortex itself. There are many connections to the thalamus that are involved in taking information from the cortex, modulating it, and then sending it back to the cortex.

Where is the perirhinal cortex?

medial temporal lobe
Anatomically, the perirhinal cortex sits at the boundary between the medial temporal lobe and the ventral visual pathway. It has prominent interconnections not only with both these systems, but also with a wide range of unimodal and polymodal association areas.

What does entorhinal mean?

: of, relating to, or being the part of the cerebral cortex in the medial temporal lobe that serves as the main cortical input to the hippocampus.

Is the entorhinal cortex part of the hippocampal formation?

The entorhinal cortex is part of the medial temporal lobe or hippocampal memory system and constitutes the major gateway between the hippocampal formation and the neocortex.

What is the role of the thalamus in sensory function?

While the thalamus is classically known for its roles as a sensory relay in visual, auditory, somatosensory, and gustatory systems, it also has significant roles in motor activity, emotion, memory, arousal, and other sensorimotor association functions.

What senses go through the thalamus on the way to the cortex?

The thalamus (from the Greek thalamos or inner chamber) transmits 98 percent of sensory information to the cortex, including vision, taste, touch and balance; the only sense that doesn’t pass through this brain region is smell.

What is the entorhinal and perirhinal cortex?

The perirhinal cortex (PRC) plays a role in object recognition memory, while the hippocampus is required for certain forms of spatial memory and episodic memory. The lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) receives direct projections from PRC and is one of the two major cortical inputs to the hippocampus.

Is the perirhinal cortex part of the limbic system?

The limbic system includes the hippocampal formation, amygdala, septal nuclei, cingulate cortex, entorhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex, and parahippocampal cortex.

What happens when the entorhinal cortex is damaged?

Damage to the entorhinal cortex is common in patients who experience traumatic brain injury, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. Entorhinal damage is assumed to interfere with sensory integration; however, substantive knowledge of behavioral patterns is lacking.