Hippocampus: Function Beyond Memory

What a big question(!), and one that neuroscience is far from answering completely. For a long time it was thought that a small part of the brain called the hippocampus is the brain's memory center. The hippocampus, which is Latin for sea horse, takes its name from its shape which is very much like a sea horse. However, recent research suggests that, like most other mental functions, multiple brain regions are involved in memory, and that the hippocampus has functions beyond memory.
When you lose memory, the likelihood is that a buildup of certain proteins or other elements may disrupt your neurons’ ability to communicate with one another, or the neurons themselves may degenerate and die. In either case, the result is an inability encode your
experiences into memory structures, to store those memories, or to be able to retrieve them.