NeuroscienceThe unique neural wiring of the human hippocampus may maximize memoryThe memory center contains sparse but robust nerve cell connections Pyramidal cells (shown) are the main type of nerve cell in the hippocampus, the brains memory center.Jake WatsonBy McKenzie Prillaman1 minute agoOur brains memory center bears a sleek design.A peek into living tissue from human hippocampi, a brain region crucial for memory and learning, revealed relatively few cell-to-cell connections for the vast number of nerve cells. But signals sent via those sparse connections proved extremely reliable and precise, researchers report December 11 in Cell.One seahorse-shaped hippocampus sits deep within each hemisphere of the mammalian brain. In each hippocampuss CA3 area, humans have about 1.7 million nerve cells called pyramidal cells. This subregion is thought to be the most internally connected part of the brain in mammals.