Exploring The Roles of Both the Hippocampus and the Cerebellum in Spatial Cognition

          

The phrase "spatial cognition" has to do with the set of knowledge that one has about different properties of different objects in the world, such as where they are in space in relation to each other. Research over the past years has studied the cells in the hippocampus and their role in detailing an animal’s specific location in space. These findings can also be related to what is seen in humans. Research has also studied the connection and crosstalk between the hippocampus and the cerebellum, and how this relates to the role of both of these brain regions in spatial navigation and cognition.


The article titled “Space in the brain: how the hippocampal formation supports spatial cognition” discusses the specific type of spatial framework that has to do with being connected to the outside world, which relies on the hippocampus. The article outlines the fact that spatial navigation can play a role in learning and memory, which is greatly affected by the hippocampus. Specifically, the article discusses the CA3 region of the hippocampus, which is related to associative memory. Associative memory plays a role in spatial cognition by allowing for the storing and recovering of patterns of information, which is linked to pattern completion. Thus, the findings of this article suggest that this is what ties the hippocampus into playing a role in spatial cognition and navigation.


A similar article, “A liaison brought to light: cerebellum-hippocampus, partners for spatial cognition,” adds onto the role of the hippocampus in spatial cognition and extends this research further by also incorporating the role of the cerebellum in this process. The findings of this article suggest that the cerebellum optimizes navigation by playing a role in the neuronal code for space, and that the cerebellum and the hippocampus share many convergent pathways. For example, the hippocampus receives input from a cerebellar module called the caudal fastigial, which aids in goal-directed behavior.


Connecting the findings of both articles, both the hippocampus and the cerebellum appear to play a major role in the formation of spatial cognition. Thus, an implication of both articles’ findings could be that they may be used to inform certain therapeutic treatments that relate to physiology. For example, if someone was having trouble navigating through space or completing tasks that require a dependence on time, perhaps both hippocampal and cerebellar stimulation can help. Additionally, because implications of the articles’ findings may include therapeutic applications that relate to physiology, there may also be therapeutic implications in terms of treating physiological disorders, such as seizures. The findings of both articles also add to existing research that highlights the bidirectional functional connectivity between the hippocampus and the cerebellum. Because the hippocampus and cerebellum are in communication with one another, they can influence one another. Thus, an implication of the cross-communication between these two brain regions is that perhaps therapies involving hippocampal stimulation can help with some cerebellar disorders, and therapies involving cerebellar stimulation can help with some hippocampal disorders. For example, it would be interesting for future directions to study whether cerebellar stimulation can be used to treat Alzheimer’s Disease, which affects the hippocampus.


Hartley, T., Lever, C., Burgess, N., & O’Keefe, J. (2014). Space in the brain: how the hippocampal formation supports spatial cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369(1635), 20120510. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0510.


Rondi-Reig, L., Paradis, A. L., & Fallahnezhad, M. (2022). A liaison brought to light: cerebellum-hippocampus, partners for spatial cognition. The Cerebellum, 21(5), 826–837. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-022-01422-3.