Binding and Organization in the Medial Temporal Lobe

AbstractThis chapter outlines a framework that describes how interactions between medial temporal lobe structures, such as the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex bind and organize information to support episodic memory and relational memory. Within this structure, the medial temporal lobe system passively collects attended perceptual and cognitive information, out of which emerges a network of relationships among experienced items and events. By contrast, prefrontal circuits use this network to abstract broad categorical comparisons to apply behaviorally relevant rules in a task‐dependent manner.