Mental imagery and spatio-temporal continuity: Evidence from the function of the hippocampal formation

The aim of this paper is to suggest a novel account of mental imagery according to which mental images are not a-temporal picture-like representations, but processes characterized by their spatio-temporal continuity. Evidence based in particular on recent advances in understating the functional role of the hippocampal formation in cognition and spatial coding is provided. Under this account, mental images are a pervasive form of cognition that is supported by the complex interaction of the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, encompassing cognitive functions such as navigation, episodic memory, as well as mental rotation and scanning. The functional role of the hippocampus is twofold: it forms elements of spatio-temporal continuity and re-combines them in novel ways in the process of scene reconstruction that underpins various forms of spatial cognition.