The mammalian hippocampus is vitally involved in the formation of both episodic memory and semantic memory, and in learning and recognition. These functions are actively involved during spatial navigation through an environment. The rodent hippocampus in particular has been greatly studied, providing a wealth of experimental data; however collation of this data into universally accepted theories of hippocampal function is far from complete. The present study concentrates on events occurring in the rodent hippocampus during such navigation. There is particular emphasis on the hippocampal theta rhythm which is manifested during navigation; on the existence and characteristics of place fields and associated place cells; and on the phenomenon of phase precession. The study has been limited to the CA1 region. Testable assertions are made about these phenomena. These assertions have been incorporated into models which are described in the later chapters of the thesis. The model has been further extended to demonstrate features of serotonergic activity in the CA1 region
