[Theories and models of the function of the hippocampus]

Different and frequently opposed theories and models of the hippocampal function have been developed. A first type of theories proposed that when some expectatives are not accomplished the hippocampus would inhibit: a) attention, b) activation or c) non-reward responses. A second type of theories supported that the hippocampal function would be the selection of the information to be stored: a) into the trace, b) into the long-term memory. A third type of theories proposed that in the hippocampus it would be stored: a) contextual maps, b) spatial maps, c) temporal maps, d) attentional-associative networks, e) contingencies detectors, f) semantics systems, g) recognition memory, h) work memory. The common element among all theories would be the detection of the differences between a neural model and a new input, as Sokolov proposed in 1960.