Hippocampal Area CA2: An Overlooked but Promising Therapeutic Target

Abstract

While the hippocampus has long been recognized as a brain structure specialized in mapping 'space' in rodents, human studies and now recent data from rodents have shown that its function extends well beyond spatial coding. Recently, an overlooked area of the hippocampus, CA2, has emerged as a critical region for social memory. This area is also uniquely altered during several pathologies such as schizophrenia and age-related dementia. Because of its singular connectivity, we propose that area CA2 resides at the interface between emotional brain activity and higher cognitive function. Furthermore, because of the unique expression of multiple neuromodulator receptors in area CA2, we posit that this region may represent a fruitful therapeutic target for diseases where social dysfunction occurs.

Keywords: area CA2; hippocampus; neurodegenerative diseases; schizophrenia; social memory.