The hippocampus is a cortical structure with a simpler and more orderly organization than the neocortex. Over the last decades, the rodent hippocampus has been one of the most frequently used model systems to study the structure, dynamics, and function of mammalian cortical circuits. Entire subfields of neuroscience rest on discoveries made in the rodent hippocampus, particularly the fields of learning and memory, synaptic plasticity, and spatial navigation. The hippocampus is an ideal model system for basic science studies because of its simple circuit organization. Also, from a translational viewpoint, the hippocampus deserves our attention given its role in Alzheimer's disease and many forms of epilepsy. In this chapter we will first introduce the overall circuit layout of the hippocampus, then we will review its main subdivisions, and finally we will discuss specific local circuits.
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