Can We Reconcile the Declarative Memory and Spatial Navigation Views on Hippocampal Function?

Some argue that hippocampus supports declarative memory, our capacity to recall facts and events, whereas others view the hippocampus as part of a system dedicated to calculating routes through space, and these two contrasting views are pursued largely independently in current research. Here we offer a perspective on where these views can and cannot be reconciled and update a bridging framework that will improve our understanding of hippocampal function. Currently, separate lines of research focus on hippocampal function in spatial navigation or in declarative memory. Here, Eichenbaum and Cohen update their relational memory account to reconcile these approaches and offer new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of memory. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.