ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that the hippocampal formation is a central part of the cognitive mapping system, subserving the representation of environmental contexts. A map could be said to contain the addresses of the representations of things, and to interconnect these in a way that captures the spatial relations among these things in an environment. Cognitive maps are important for the use of behavioral strategies involving approach to, or withdrawal from, specific locations. Work with amnesic patients indicates that the influence on the formation of permanent memory remains important for up to several years. The chapter discusses the reasons for postulating the long-term consolidation process. It begins by asserting that theories in psychology should be constrained by physiological evidence, and proposes a model of environmental context effects that reflects such constraints. In addition to constraints vested in the physiological realization of internal representations, one must wonder about the adaptive functions served by these models of the external world.
