The medial temporal lobe is associated with short-term memory, semantic memory, language, speech production, language understanding and production, speech processing, facial processing, and emotional and prosodic processing. The hippocampus is closely associated with the medial temporal lobe, including Brocas area and Wernickes area.
It has been suggested that the medial temporal lobe is associated with memory consolidation, whereas the hippocampus may be responsible for retention, learning, and knowledge. This is supported by studies that show that during consolidation, hippocampal formation works to integrate episodic memory and choose which information to retain from the original memory. In contrast, Wernickes zone and associative zone help maintain the integrity and availability of memory.
Many other brain structures contribute to memory. However, the hippocampus is primarily responsible for creating space-time maps. The hippocampus plays an important role in contextual information. For example, space-time maps are used to figure out where a body is in relation to its environment. The medial temporal lobe is associated with complex thinking, speech, and higher cognitive functions. In addition, it plays an important role in the processing of emotions. The medial temporal lobe also functions as a connection between the two hemispheres of the brain and aids in emotional and affective processing.