On the nature of medial temporal lobe contributions to the constructive simulation of future events

• Published in: Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences Vol. 364; no. 1521; pp. 1245 - 1253
• Main Authors: Schacter, Daniel L., Addis, Donna Rose
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London The Royal Society 12.05.2009
• Subjects: Amnesia - physiopathology; Analytical forecasting; Behavioral neuroscience; Concept Formation - physiology; Empirical evidence; Future Thinking; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - physiology; Humans; Imagination - physiology; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Medial Temporal Lobe; Memory; Memory - physiology; Memory recall; Mental Simulation; Models, Neurological; Neuroimaging; Parahippocampal Cortex; Parahippocampal Gyrus - physiology; Prefrontal cortex; Temporal lobe
• ISSN: 0962-8436; 1471-2970
• DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0308

A rapidly growing number of studies indicate that imagining or simulating possible future events depends on much of the same neural machinery as does remembering past events. One especially striking finding is that the medial temporal lobe (MTL), which has long been linked to memory function, appears to be similarly engaged during future event simulation. This paper focuses on the role of two MTL regions-the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex-in thinking about the future and building mental simulations.