Question

1. Describe in your own words what role the hippocampus plays in Declarative Memory (also known as Explicit Memory).
2. Is the hippocampus also necessary to form new Non-Declarative Memories (also known as Implicit Memories)?

Answer 1

Hippocampus is an integral part of the temporal lobe of each cerebral cortex. It regulates and controls motivation, learning, memory, emotions, etc. It mainly stores episodic memories and helps to retain them. It creates a link between the events and episodes into a specific memory.
Declarative memory, also known as explicit memory, is a recollection of such events. It has two subparts - Episodic and Semantic. Episodic memory is information about the things we have experienced and semantic memory is more about the factual information. The hippocampus plays an important role in Declarative memory as it helps retain the episodic memory.
Hippocampus is not necessary to form a new non-declarative memories which are Implicit Memories. Non-declarative memories are motor memories. For example - tying a tie, it requires continuous practice but doesn't require continuous attention.