Narrative Memories Woven by an Intertextual Hippocampus

Narratives fundamentally shape the way we remember real-life experiences. However, neuroscientists have only begun to understand how narratives impact the way our brains support memory. In this opinion piece, I illustrate how the hippocampus, a key region of the brain for memory, transforms our experiences into larger narratives in memory. Furthermore, I argue that the hippocampus provides a biological basis for "intertextuality" - that is, all experiences or texts may be necessarily understood and remembered in relation to other experiences or texts. An intertextual hippocampus has tangible consequences for our lives and our art.