rCBF to the hippocampal complex covaries with superior semantic memory retrieval

Patterns of brain atrophy associated with episodic memory and semantic fluency decline in aging

“…Although the MTL is widely considered as the neuroanatomical substrate of episodic memory [36,37], neuroimaging studies have extended its implication in semantic memory [38–40]. Some authors suggested that the involvement of left hippocampus in semantic information processing result from use of strategies relying on autobiographic processes and episodic recollections optimizing semantic memory functioning [39,41–43].…”

Impaired assessment of cumulative lifetime familiarity for object concepts after left anterior temporal-lobe resection that includes perirhinal cortex but spares the hippocampus

“…This possibility deserves consideration in light of prior evidence that implicates hippocampal functioning in ostensibly semantic tasks, such as object naming or conceptual fluency, i.e., the speeded generation of exemplars from different semantic categories (Klooster & Duff, 2015;Greenberg, Keane, Ryan, & Verfaille, 2009;Ryan, Cox, Hayes, & Nadel, 2008;Sheldon & Moscovitch, 2013;Westmacott & Moscovitch, 2003;Whatmough & Chertkow, 2007). Building on the widely held view that the hippocampus plays a critical role in binding items to episodic contexts (Cohen & Eichenbaum, 1993), such evidence has led to the suggestion that episodic and semantic memory may interact even on tasks that do not require any recollection, and that recollection of a pertinent autobiographical episode can help generate or retrieve semantic information (see Sheldon & Moscovitch, 2012, for detailed discussion).…”

Complex span tasks and hippocampal recruitment during working memory

“…For other problems, various back-up strategies may be used to retrieve or calculate information, and are cycled through while trying to identify the correct answer. Furthermore, even though it has traditionally been argued that the hippocampus is not necessary for semantic-fact retrieval from LTM, such as that required during arithmetic, recent studies suggest its involvement (e.g., Burianova et al, 2010;Hoscheidt et al, 2010;Ryan et al, 2008;Whatmough and Chertkow, 2007). Consequently, hippocampal activity during complex arithmetic operations may signal a role for the hippocampus as part of a temporary WM storage buffer for items retrieved from LTM not currently in the focus of attention.…”