A Place for Memories

This is the hippocampus. Though this particular one belongs to a mouse, it is one of the key brain structures for most vertebrates. It controls your memory, including both short- and long-term memories. It also houses the place cells that allow you to understand and navigate your surroundings. The yellow spots on this image are α-synuclein, a little-understood protein that is a major component of Lewy bodies, associated with Parkinson’s disease.