Functional Anatomy of Encoding/Retrieval Processing in the Medial Parietal Areas

This article reviews memory functions in the medial parietal areas, which consist of the retrosplenial cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, and the precuneus. These areas are involved in various cognitive functions including memory processing, spatial cognition, and self-related processing. Fundamental previous studies from the areas of neuropsychology, neuroimaging, psychiatry, and neurology, are covered to describe memory-related functions in the medial parietal areas. The focus is on the default mode network and the encoding/retrieval flip as key issues for understanding memory functions in the medial parietal areas.