The hippocampal complex and long-term memory revisited.

A recent report by Cipolotti et al. demontrates that the hippocampus and perhaps the parahippocampal area are essential for retrieval of remote episodic memory and important for remote semantic memory. This report, along with other recent findings, re-opens the debate about the role of these medial temporal lobe structures, indicating that their role extends much further than traditional theory had suggested.