The role of hippocampal predictions in cognition: bridging perception and memory

Memory allows us to use existing knowledge to understand what we are currently perceiving and what we may experience in the future. Despite these intricate links, research on perception has historically been separate from research on memory. This theme issue focuses on the hippocampus, a brain region essential for memory, to determine how hippocampal memories enable predictions that link the past to the perceptual present. The articles discuss how hippocampal memories support prediction and perception across domains, including visual exploration, learning, navigation, inference and event cognition. The research spans computational modelling, behavioural studies, animal neurophysiology and human neuroimaging. Together, this work highlights how predictions bridge the gap between memory and perception, revealing the interplay between what we see and remember. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of hippocampal predictions in cognition: bridging perception and memory’.