the hippocampus region

その影響について、攻撃性を高める、依存性が高いなど、しばしばネガティブな形で言及されがちなコンピューターゲームですが、最新の研究では、3Dゲームをプレイすることが記憶力の向上につながると明らかになりました。

3-D video games can help improve memory recall, U.S. study finds

Playing three-dimensional video games just 30 minutes a day might mean new memories are less likely to fade away, a small U.S. study suggests.

For two weeks, researchers asked 69 novice gamers to devote a half-hour daily to playing either the two-dimensional “Angry Birds” game, “Super Mario 3D World,” or nothing at all. Based on tests taken at the start and end of the experiment, only the 3-D players had memory improvements, the study found.

“The 3-D games have a lot going for them that the 2-D ones don’t,” study co-author Craig Stark, a neurobiologist at the University of California, Irvine, said by email.

“There’s the issue of perspective, the amount of spatial information in there, the ‘self’ or ‘immersive’ aspect of them — you feel like you’re in there — or just the total amount of stuff you can incidentally learn,” Stark added. “When the viewpoint is relatively static, in a 2-D game, you don’t get exposed to nearly as many spatial relations.”

While the study wasn’t designed to show how 3-D video games might improve memory, it’s possible playing these games stimulated the hippocampus region of the brain, Stark and coauthor Gregory Clemson, also of U.C. Irvine, note in the Journal of Neuroscience.

以下省略

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002645422

“hippocampus”を取り上げます。On-lineのweblio英和辞典（研究社）を参照したところ「海馬、タツノオトシゴ属」などがその語義に該当すると分かりました。さらにEncyclopaedia Britanica（Online）を見てみると，

Hippocampus, region of the brain that is associated primarily with memory. The name hippocampus is derived from the Greek hippokampus (hippos, meaning “horse,” and kampos, meaning “sea monster”), since the structure’s shape resembles that of a sea horse. The hippocampus, which is located in the inner (medial) region of the temporal lobe, forms part of the limbic system, which is particularly important in regulating emotional responses. The hippocampus is thought to be principally involved in storing long-term memories and in making those memories resistant to forgetting, though this is a matter of debate. It is also thought to play an important role in spatial processing and navigation.

http://www.britannica.com/science/hippocampus

さて、脳において記憶や空間学習能力を司る機関の一つ「海馬」ですが、Britanicaにあるように断面がタツノオトシゴに似ている事に起因する説(タツノオトシゴ“sea horse”→海馬)、左右組み合わせた姿がギリシャ神話に登場する半馬半魚の海馬・ヒッポカンポスに似ているためとする二つの語源説が有力とされているようです。(あいづ)

PS 昨日、会津へと帰省致しました。オレゴンからの帰国後，故郷に帰るのには少し期間を置きましたが、無事留学を終えたと両親、兄弟に直接報告することができ、ささやかな幸福感に浸っています。故郷の居心地の良さに甘え、怠けることの無いよう、自己研鑽に励んでいきます。