DO YOU KNOW ? How to avoid memory loss ? What is the hippocampus?

 The best way to stimulate the hippocampus — and improve our memory — is exercise. 

Physical aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain — but it also stimulates the birth of new neurons, as does stimulating the brain by engaging crossword puzzles or games such as chess or sudoku. 

Reichelt's research suggests that high fat and high sugar foods also have a rapid, detrimental inflammatory impact on the hippocampus. Eating a healthy diet is key, she said; a diet that is high in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant rich foods, including blueberries, leafy green vegetables, fatty fish, and spices, such as turmeric. 

"I think that it's critical that we eat well, and … stay active," she said, adding that while memory declines with age, a healthy lifestyle can help mitigate that decline, although it cannot completely neutralize it. 

The hippocampus is a seahorse shaped organ that sits on the underside of each temporal lobe — the part of the brain near our ears. The hippocampus is a small but important part of the brain that's responsible for storing memories, learning and navigation. 

The hippocampus is a heavily investigated part of the brain, but it wasn't until the 1950s that scientists were truly able to grasp what role it plays. In 1953, Henry Molaison consented to an experimental procedure allowing doctors to surgically remove his hippocampus and neighboring regions to address his epilepsy. 

The surgery stopped his seizures, but caused Molaison to develop a form of amnesia. He was able to form fresh memories but they lasted minutes, and he could no longer permanently store new information, according to neuroscientist Larry R. Squire's 2009 review of Molaison's case, published in the journal Neuron. 

Molaison described his state as "like waking from a dream … every day is alone in itself," Squire wrote. All Molaison could recall were events that occurred years before his surgery. Still, he did eventually improve his performance on certain motor tasks, such as the ability to draw a shape reflected in a mirror even though he had no recollection of ever having done it before.