Parahippocampal gyrus

The parahippocampal gyrus is a gyrus on the inferomedial surface of the temporal lobe. It takes part in learning and memory. (Neuroscience Online, Overview of the Nervous System)

Latin gyrus parahippocampalis (Wikipedia, Parahippocampal gyrus, CC BY-SA 4.0) · FMA61918 · Nervous system

The brain model seen from below, other structures faded, with the parahippocampal gyrus highlighted on the inner underside of each temporal lobe. — The parahippocampal gyrus highlighted in the brain model, seen from below. Render: ScienceQuest, CC BY 4.0. Meshes: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0

The right and left parahippocampal gyri shown alone and seen from below, one on each side of the midline. — The right and left parahippocampal gyri on their own, seen from below. Render: ScienceQuest, CC BY 4.0. Meshes: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0

Open it in the Brain Explorer See it alone in 3D

Where is the parahippocampal gyrus?

It lies inferomedial to the inferior temporal gyrus. The collateral sulcus separates it from the occipitotemporal gyrus beside it. (Neuroscience Online, Overview of the Nervous System)

The subiculum marks the change from the hippocampus to the parahippocampal gyrus, going from three cortical layers to six. (Neuroscience Online, Limbic System: Hippocampus)

With the cingulate gyrus, it is one of the cortical parts of the limbic lobe. (Neuroscience Online, Overview of the Nervous System)

What does the parahippocampal gyrus do?

Its entorhinal cortex provides the main cortical input to the hippocampus. (Neuroscience Online, Limbic System: Hippocampus; OpenStax Behavioral Neuroscience, 18.3)

In rats, grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex fire each time the animal crosses one of many points that form a regular triangular grid across its enclosure. (OpenStax Behavioral Neuroscience, 18.3; Hafting et al. 2005, Nature)

What does the parahippocampal gyrus connect to?

In the Papez circuit, the cingulate cortex projects back to the entorhinal cortex of this gyrus, completing the loop. (Neuroscience Online, Limbic System: Hippocampus)

The cingulate, temporal and orbital cortices and the amygdala all reach the hippocampus through the entorhinal cortex. (Neuroscience Online, Limbic System: Hippocampus)

The amygdala also projects straight to the entorhinal cortex. (Neuroscience Online, Limbic System: Amygdala)

Touches in this model

Measured on the BodyParts3D meshes: surfaces within 2 mm of the parahippocampal gyrus, nearest first, 12 of 20.

Left cingulate gyrus in contact
Left fusiform gyrus in contact
Left hippocampus in contact
Peduncle of midbrain in contact
Pons in contact
Right cingulate gyrus in contact
Right fusiform gyrus in contact
Right hippocampus in contact
White matter structure of cerebral hemisphere in contact
Left amygdala 0.6 mm away
Left occipital lobe 0.7 mm away
Right amygdala 0.7 mm away

Sources

Neuroscience Online, McGovern Medical School, Section 2, Chapter 1, Overview of the Nervous System. Nachum Dafny, Ph.D.. Last update Reviewed and revised 07 Oct 2020. Open access; no reuse licence stated. Read 2026-10-25.
Neuroscience Online, McGovern Medical School, Section 4, Chapter 5, Limbic System: Hippocampus. Anthony Wright, Ph.D.. Last update Revised 07 July 2026. Open access; no reuse licence stated. Read 2026-10-25.
OpenStax Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience, section 18.3, Explicit Memories: Episodic and Semantic Memories. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
Nature, Microstructure of a spatial map in the entorhinal cortex, Nature 436, pages 801 to 806 (abstract, PMID 15965463). Hafting T, Fyhn M, Molden S, Moser MB, Moser EI. Abstract read on Europe PMC; no reuse licence stated. Read 2026-10-25.
Neuroscience Online, McGovern Medical School, Section 4, Chapter 6, Limbic System: Amygdala. Anthony Wright, Ph.D.. Last update Revised 20 July 2026. Open access; no reuse licence stated. Read 2026-10-25.