entorhinální

The entorhinal cortex, Czech: entorhinální kortex, is a region of the brain located in the medial temporal lobe. It lies in the parahippocampal gyrus, adjacent to the hippocampus, and overlies the rhinal sulcus, forming a major interface between the hippocampal formation and the neocortex. It serves as a key relay hub for memory and navigation-related information between the hippocampus and cortical areas.

The entorhinal cortex is commonly subdivided into the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) and lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC). MEC contains grid cells and is strongly implicated in spatial navigation and path integration, while LEC is more involved in object-related and contextual information. The cortex has a six-layer structure, typical of cortical areas.

Functionally, the entorhinal cortex processes and relays highly processed sensory information to the hippocampus and returns information that can be stored in long-term memory. It plays a central role in episodic memory formation, consolidation, and retrieval, and contributes to spatial navigation and the integration of movement and sensory cues.

Connectivity-wise, the entorhinal cortex receives major inputs from the perirhinal and parahippocampal cortices and sends outputs to the dentate gyrus and CA fields of the hippocampus via the perforant path, with reciprocal connections that support bidirectional hippocampal–cortical communication.

Clinical relevance includes its status as one of the earliest affected regions in Alzheimer’s disease, where tau pathology and atrophy appear early and correlate with memory impairment. It is a focus of imaging studies and dementia research as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target.