Time to retire the serial Papez circuit: Implications for space, memory, and attention. (September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aggleton, John P.; Nelson, Andrew J.D.; O'Mara, Shane M.
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. Volume 140(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Subjects: Amnesia -- Attention -- Context -- Hippocampus -- Mammillary bodies -- Memory -- Space -- Thalamus; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Human behavior -- Periodicals; Animal behavior -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Behavior -- Periodicals; Ethology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Psychophysiologie -- Périodiques; Comportement humain -- Périodiques; Animaux -- Mœurs et comportement -- Périodiques; Neurologie -- Périodiques; Animal behavior; Human behavior; Neurology; Psychophysiology; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 573.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104813
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-7634

Abstract

Abstract: After more than 80 years, Papez serial circuit remains a hugely influential concept, initially for emotion, but in more recent decades, for memory. Here, we show how this circuit is anatomically and mechanistically naïve as well as outdated. We argue that a new conceptualisation is necessitated by recent anatomical and functional findings that emphasize the more equal, working partnerships between the anterior thalamic nuclei and the hippocampal formation, along with their neocortical interactions in supporting, episodic memory. Furthermore, despite the importance of the anterior thalamic for mnemonic processing, there is growing evidence that these nuclei support multiple aspects of cognition, only some of which are directly associated with hippocampal function. By viewing the anterior thalamic nuclei as a multifunctional hub, a clearer picture emerges of extra-hippocampal regions supporting memory. The reformulation presented here underlines the need to retire Papez serially processing circuit. Highlights: Why it is time for the concept of Papez circuit to be retired. The anterior thalamic nuclei and hippocampus conjointly support episodic memory. Focus should now shift to how these two structures jointly interact with neocortex. Some anterior thalamic functions are independent of the hippocampus. The anterior thalamic nuclei provide a multifunctional hub.