Take a Brain Break with the Hippocampus

Hi! I’m the Hippocampus, and I am the Sportscaster for the BRAIN POWER team. Hippocampus is Greek for “seahorse,” which is perfect for me, as you can see from my shape. Just like when you watch a sporting event, the sportscaster is responsible for making the event spectacular—evoking emotions and excitement to all those watching or listening. That is what I do for your body!  As part of the limbic system, I control your emotions and natural drives like hunger, or caring for offspring. Most notably, though, I help you to create and categorize your memories.

When a new event happens, I prepare it to be processed as a new memory – linking it to both the senses, and the emotions of the moment. Think about watching a horse race, a grand slam, an amazing pass, goal or score. It’s my job as the sportscaster to relay those messages to you in the proper way so that you can remember them in the future

Now let’s talk about adding alcohol to the mix. If you are underage and have to make a decision about drinking alcohol, think twice! I’m just a junior sportscaster at this point…still learning my skills and developing my style. This is no time to jeopardize the precious memories that we can make with friends and family, activities and adventures!

Even after just a drink or two the ability of the brain (that means me) to create new memories begins to falter, making it harder to learn new information such as names or phone numbers. Just think if a sportscaster like me forgot who won the big game or announced the wrong score. It would cause confusion and disappointment for fans everywhere!

Drinking a lot of alcohol quickly can cause a “blackout”—where you forget entire stretches of time, like the whole previous night. And that would be like turning off the TV or radio—or leaving the game before it’s over!

Worst of all, if I am damaged by long-term alcohol misuse, you may find it hard to learn and to hold on to new knowledge – even when you’re not drinking!

So let me announce this: Say YES to a healthy lifestyle and NO to underage drinking. That is a home run, touchdown, and record-breaking blue ribbon all in one!

To learn more about me, you can check out my video and don’t forget to test your knowledge with this quick quiz!