1
|
Jiang Q, Wu KLK, Hu XQ, Cheung MH, Chen W, Ma CW, Shum DKY, Chan YS. Neonatal GABAergic transmission primes vestibular gating of output for adult spatial navigation. Cell Mol Life Sci 2024; 81:147. [PMID: 38502309 PMCID: PMC10951018 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-024-05170-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
GABAergic interneurons are poised with the capacity to shape circuit output via inhibitory gating. How early in the development of medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) are GABAergic neurons recruited for feedforward shaping of outputs to higher centers for spatial navigation? The role of early GABAergic transmission in assembling vestibular circuits for spatial navigation was explored by neonatal perturbation. Immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging were utilized to reveal the expression of parvalbumin (PV)-expressing MVN neurons and their perineuronal nets. Whole-cell patch-clamp recording, coupled with optogenetics, was conducted in vitro to examine the synaptic function of MVN circuitry. Chemogenetic targeting strategy was also employed in vivo to manipulate neuronal activity during navigational tests. We found in rats a neonatal critical period before postnatal day (P) 8 in which competitive antagonization of GABAergic transmission in the MVN retarded maturation of inhibitory neurotransmission, as evidenced by deranged developmental trajectory for excitation/inhibition ratio and an extended period of critical period-like plasticity in GABAergic transmission. Despite increased number of PV-expressing GABAergic interneurons in the MVN, optogenetic-coupled patch-clamp recording indicated null-recruitment of these neurons in tuning outputs along the ascending vestibular pathway. Such perturbation not only offset output dynamics of ascending MVN output neurons, but was further accompanied by impaired vestibular-dependent navigation in adulthood. The same perturbations were however non-consequential when applied after P8. Results highlight neonatal GABAergic transmission as key to establishing feedforward output dynamics to higher brain centers for spatial cognition and navigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiufen Jiang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kenneth Lap-Kei Wu
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
| | - Xiao-Qian Hu
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Man-Him Cheung
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenqiang Chen
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
- Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Chun-Wai Ma
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - Daisy Kwok-Yan Shum
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
| | - Ying-Shing Chan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Graham JA, Dumont JR, Winter SS, Brown JE, LaChance PA, Amon CC, Farnes KB, Morris AJ, Streltzov NA, Taube JS. Angular Head Velocity Cells within Brainstem Nuclei Projecting to the Head Direction Circuit. J Neurosci 2023; 43:8403-8424. [PMID: 37871964 PMCID: PMC10711713 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0581-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The sense of orientation of an animal is derived from the head direction (HD) system found in several limbic structures and depends on an intact vestibular labyrinth. However, how the vestibular system influences the generation and updating of the HD signal remains poorly understood. Anatomical and lesion studies point toward three key brainstem nuclei as key components for generating the HD signal-nucleus prepositus hypoglossi, supragenual nucleus, and dorsal paragigantocellularis reticular nuclei. Collectively, these nuclei are situated between the vestibular nuclei and the dorsal tegmental and lateral mammillary nuclei, which are thought to serve as the origin of the HD signal. To determine the types of information these brain areas convey to the HD network, we recorded neurons from these regions while female rats actively foraged in a cylindrical enclosure or were restrained and rotated passively. During foraging, a large subset of cells in all three nuclei exhibited activity that correlated with the angular head velocity (AHV) of the rat. Two fundamental types of AHV cells were observed; (1) symmetrical AHV cells increased or decreased their firing with increases in AHV regardless of the direction of rotation, and (2) asymmetrical AHV cells responded differentially to clockwise and counterclockwise head rotations. When rats were passively rotated, some AHV cells remained sensitive to AHV, whereas firing was attenuated in other cells. In addition, a large number of AHV cells were modulated by linear head velocity. These results indicate the types of information conveyed from the vestibular nuclei that are responsible for generating the HD signal.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Extracellular recording of brainstem nuclei (nucleus prepositus hypoglossi, supragenual nucleus, and dorsal paragigantocellularis reticular nucleus) that project to the head direction circuit identified different types of AHV cells while rats freely foraged in a cylindrical environment. The firing of many cells was also modulated by linear velocity. When rats were restrained and passively rotated, some cells remained sensitive to AHV, whereas others had attenuated firing. These brainstem nuclei provide critical information about the rotational movement of the head of the rat in the azimuthal plane.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jalina A Graham
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Julie R Dumont
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Shawn S Winter
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Joel E Brown
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Patrick A LaChance
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Carly C Amon
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Kara B Farnes
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Ashlyn J Morris
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Nicholas A Streltzov
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, New Hampshire 03755
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Graham JA, Dumont JR, Winter SS, Brown JE, LaChance PA, Amon CC, Farnes KB, Morris AJ, Streltzov NA, Taube JS. Angular head velocity cells within brainstem nuclei projecting to the head direction circuit. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.29.534808. [PMID: 37034640 PMCID: PMC10081164 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.29.534808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
An animal's perceived sense of orientation depends upon the head direction (HD) system found in several limbic structures and depends upon an intact peripheral vestibular labyrinth. However, how the vestibular system influences the generation, maintenance, and updating of the HD signal remains poorly understood. Anatomical and lesion studies point towards three key brainstem nuclei as being potential critical components in generating the HD signal: nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (NPH), supragenual nucleus (SGN), and dorsal paragigantocellularis reticular nuclei (PGRNd). Collectively, these nuclei are situated between the vestibular nuclei and the dorsal tegmental and lateral mammillary nuclei, which are thought to serve as the origin of the HD signal. To test this hypothesis, extracellular recordings were made in these areas while rats either freely foraged in a cylindrical environment or were restrained and rotated passively. During foraging, a large subset of cells in all three nuclei exhibited activity that correlated with changes in the rat's angular head velocity (AHV). Two fundamental types of AHV cells were observed: 1) symmetrical AHV cells increased or decreased their neural firing with increases in AHV regardless of the direction of rotation; 2) asymmetrical AHV cells responded differentially to clockwise (CW) and counter-clockwise (CCW) head rotations. When rats were passively rotated, some AHV cells remained sensitive to AHV whereas others had attenuated firing. In addition, a large number of AHV cells were modulated by linear head velocity. These results indicate the types of information conveyed in the ascending vestibular pathways that are responsible for generating the HD signal. Significance Statement Extracellular recording of brainstem nuclei (nucleus prepositus hypoglossi, supragenual nucleus, and dorsal paragigantocellularis reticular nucleus) that project to the head direction circuit identified different types of angular head velocity (AHV) cells while rats freely foraged in a cylindrical environment. The firing of many cells was also modulated by linear velocity. When rats were restrained and passively rotated some cells remained sensitive to AHV, whereas others had attenuated firing. These brainstem nuclei provide critical information about the rotational movement of the rat's head in the azimuthal plane.
Collapse
|
4
|
Grieves RM, Shinder ME, Rosow LK, Kenna MS, Taube JS. The Neural Correlates of Spatial Disorientation in Head Direction Cells. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0174-22.2022. [PMID: 36635237 PMCID: PMC9770022 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0174-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
While the brain has evolved robust mechanisms to counter spatial disorientation, their neural underpinnings remain unknown. To explore these underpinnings, we monitored the activity of anterodorsal thalamic head direction (HD) cells in rats while they underwent unidirectional or bidirectional rotation at different speeds and under different conditions (light vs dark, freely-moving vs head-fixed). Under conditions that promoted disorientation, HD cells did not become quiescent but continued to fire, although their firing was no longer direction specific. Peak firing rates, burst frequency, and directionality all decreased linearly with rotation speed, consistent with previous experiments where rats were inverted or climbed walls/ceilings in zero gravity. However, access to visual landmarks spared the stability of preferred firing directions (PFDs), indicating that visual landmarks provide a stabilizing signal to the HD system while vestibular input likely maintains direction-specific firing. In addition, we found evidence that the HD system underestimated angular velocity at the beginning of head-fixed rotations, consistent with the finding that humans often underestimate rotations. When head-fixed rotations in the dark were terminated HD cells fired in bursts that matched the frequency of rotation. This postrotational bursting shared several striking similarities with postrotational "nystagmus" in the vestibulo-ocular system, consistent with the interpretation that the HD system receives input from a vestibular velocity storage mechanism that works to reduce spatial disorientation following rotation. Thus, the brain overcomes spatial disorientation through multisensory integration of different motor-sensory inputs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roddy M Grieves
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
| | - Michael E Shinder
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
| | - Laura K Rosow
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
| | - Megan S Kenna
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
| | - Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Mehlman ML, Marcroft JL, Taube JS. Anatomical projections to the dorsal tegmental nucleus and abducens nucleus arise from separate cell populations in the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi, but overlapping cell populations in the medial vestibular nucleus. J Comp Neurol 2021; 529:2706-2726. [PMID: 33511641 PMCID: PMC8113086 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Specialized circuitry in the brain processes spatial information to provide a sense of direction used for navigation. The dorsal tegmental nucleus (DTN) is a core component of this circuitry and utilizes vestibular inputs to generate neural activity encoding the animal's directional heading. Projections arising from the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (NPH) and the medial vestibular nucleus (MVe) are thought to transmit critical vestibular signals to the DTN and other brain areas, including the abducens nucleus (ABN), a component of eye movement circuitry. Here, we utilized a dual retrograde tracer approach in rats to investigate whether overlapping or distinct populations of neurons project from the NPH or MVe to the DTN and ABN. We report that individual MVe neurons project to both the DTN and ABN. In contrast, we observed individual NPH neurons that project to either the DTN or ABN, but rarely to both structures simultaneously. We also examined labeling patterns in other structures located in the brainstem and posterior cortex and observed (1) complex patterns of interhemispheric connectivity between the left and right DTN, (2) projections from the supragenual nucleus, interpeduncular nucleus, and retrosplenial cortex to the DTN, (3) projections from the lateral superior olive to the ABN, and (4) a unique population of cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus. Collectively, our experiments provide valuable new information that extends our understanding of the anatomical organization of the brain's spatial processing circuitry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Max L. Mehlman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Jennifer L. Marcroft
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Jeffrey S. Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Stangl M, Kanitscheider I, Riemer M, Fiete I, Wolbers T. Sources of path integration error in young and aging humans. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2626. [PMID: 32457293 PMCID: PMC7250899 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15805-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Path integration plays a vital role in navigation: it enables the continuous tracking of one's position in space by integrating self-motion cues. Path integration abilities vary widely across individuals, and tend to deteriorate in old age. The specific causes of path integration errors, however, remain poorly characterized. Here, we combine tests of path integration performance in participants of different ages with an analysis based on the Langevin equation for diffusive dynamics, which allows us to decompose errors into distinct causes that can corrupt path integration computations. We show that, across age groups, the dominant error source is unbiased noise that accumulates with travel distance not elapsed time, suggesting that the noise originates in the velocity input rather than within the integrator. Age-related declines are primarily traced to a growth in this noise. These findings shed light on the contributors to path integration error and the mechanisms underlying age-related navigational deficits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Stangl
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Aging & Cognition Research Group, Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Ingmar Kanitscheider
- Center for Learning and Memory, Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
- OpenAI, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Martin Riemer
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Aging & Cognition Research Group, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Ila Fiete
- Center for Learning and Memory, Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences & McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Thomas Wolbers
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Aging & Cognition Research Group, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Taube JS, Shinder ME. On the absence or presence of 3D tuned head direction cells in rats: a review and rebuttal. J Neurophysiol 2020; 123:1808-1827. [PMID: 32208877 PMCID: PMC8086636 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00475.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A major question in the field of spatial cognition is how animals represent three-dimensional (3D) space. Different results have been obtained across various species and may depend on whether the species inhabits a 3D environment or is terrestrial (land dwelling). The head direction (HD) cell system is an attractive candidate to study in terms of 3D representations. HD cells fire as a function of the animal's directional heading in the horizontal plane, independent of the animal's location and on-going behavior. Another issue concerns whether HD cells are tuned in 3D space or tuned to the 2D horizontal plane. Shinder and Taube (Shinder ME, Taube JS. J Neurophysiol 121: 4-37, 2019) addressed this issue by manipulating a rat's orientation in 3D space while monitoring responses from classic HD cells in the rat anterodorsal thalamus. They reported that HD cells did not display conjunctive firing with pitch or roll orientations. Direction-specific firing was primarily derived from horizontal semicircular canal information and that the gravity vector played an important role in influencing the cell's firing rate and its preferred firing direction. Laurens and Angelaki (Laurens J, Angelaki DE. J Neurophysiol 122: 1274-1287, 2019) challenged this view by performing a mathematical analysis on the Shinder and Taube data and concluded that they would not have seen 3D tuning based on their experimental approach. We provide a historical review of these issues followed by a summary of the experiments, which includes additional analyses. We then define what it means for a HD cell to be tuned in 3D and finish by rebutting the reanalyses performed by Laurens and Angelaki.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Michael E Shinder
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Dillingham CM, Vann SD. Why Isn't the Head Direction System Necessary for Direction? Lessons From the Lateral Mammillary Nuclei. Front Neural Circuits 2019; 13:60. [PMID: 31619970 PMCID: PMC6759954 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2019.00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex spatial representations in the hippocampal formation and related cortical areas require input from the head direction system. However, a recurrent finding is that behavior apparently supported by these spatial representations does not appear to require input from generative head direction regions, i.e., lateral mammillary nuclei (LMN). Spatial tasks that tax direction discrimination should be particularly sensitive to the loss of head direction information, however, this has been repeatedly shown not to be the case. A further dissociation between electrophysiological properties of the head direction system and behavior comes in the form of geometric-based navigation which is impaired following lesions to the head direction system, yet head direction cells are not normally guided by geometric cues. We explore this apparent mismatch between behavioral and electrophysiological studies and highlight future experiments that are needed to generate models that encompass both neurophysiological and behavioral findings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Seralynne D Vann
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Laurens J, Angelaki DE. The Brain Compass: A Perspective on How Self-Motion Updates the Head Direction Cell Attractor. Neuron 2019; 97:275-289. [PMID: 29346751 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2017] [Revised: 11/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Head direction cells form an internal compass signaling head azimuth orientation even without visual landmarks. This property is generated by a neuronal ring attractor that is updated using rotation velocity cues. The properties and origin of this velocity drive remain, however, unknown. We propose a quantitative framework whereby this drive represents a multisensory self-motion estimate computed through an internal model that uses sensory prediction errors of vestibular, visual, and somatosensory cues to improve on-line motor drive. We show how restraint-dependent strength of recurrent connections within the attractor can explain differences in head direction cell firing between free foraging and restrained passive rotation. We also summarize recent findings on how gravity influences azimuth coding, indicating that the velocity drive is not purely egocentric. Finally, we show that the internal compass may be three-dimensional and hypothesize that the additional vertical degrees of freedom use global allocentric gravity cues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jean Laurens
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Dora E Angelaki
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Cullen KE, Taube JS. Our sense of direction: progress, controversies and challenges. Nat Neurosci 2019; 20:1465-1473. [PMID: 29073639 DOI: 10.1038/nn.4658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 09/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In this Perspective, we evaluate current progress in understanding how the brain encodes our sense of direction, within the context of parallel work focused on how early vestibular pathways encode self-motion. In particular, we discuss how these systems work together and provide evidence that they involve common mechanisms. We first consider the classic view of the head direction cell and results of recent experiments in rodents and primates indicating that inputs to these neurons encode multimodal information during self-motion, such as proprioceptive and motor efference copy signals, including gaze-related information. We also consider the paradox that, while the head-direction network is generally assumed to generate a fixed representation of perceived directional heading, this computation would need to be dynamically updated when the relationship between voluntary motor command and its sensory consequences changes. Such situations include navigation in virtual reality and head-restricted conditions, since the natural relationship between visual and extravisual cues is altered.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen E Cullen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Mehlman ML, Winter SS, Taube JS. Functional and anatomical relationships between the medial precentral cortex, dorsal striatum, and head direction cell circuitry. II. Neuroanatomical studies. J Neurophysiol 2019; 121:371-395. [PMID: 30427743 PMCID: PMC6397393 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00144.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
An animal's directional heading within its environment is encoded by the activity of head direction (HD) cells. In rodents, these neurons are found primarily within the limbic system in the interconnected structures that form the limbic HD circuit. In our accompanying report in this issue, we describe two HD cell populations located outside of this circuit in the medial precentral cortex (PrCM) and dorsal striatum (DS). These extralimbic areas receive their HD signals from the limbic system but do not provide critical input or feedback to limbic HD cells (Mehlman ML, Winter SS, Valerio S, Taube JS. J Neurophysiol 121: 350-370, 2019.). In this report, we complement our previous lesion and recording experiments with a series of neuroanatomical tracing studies in rats designed to examine patterns of connectivity between the PrCM, DS, limbic HD circuit, and related spatial processing circuitry. Retrograde tracing revealed that the DS receives direct input from numerous structures known to contain HD cells and/or other spatially tuned cell types. Importantly, these projections preferentially target and converge within the most medial portion of the DS, the same area in which we previously recorded HD cells. The PrCM receives direct input from a subset of these spatial processing structures. Anterograde tracing identified indirect pathways that could permit the PrCM and DS to convey self-motion information to the limbic HD circuit. These tracing studies reveal the anatomical basis for the functional relationships observed in our lesion and recording experiments. Collectively, these findings expand our understanding of how spatial processing circuitry functionally and anatomically extends beyond the limbic system into the PrCM and DS. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Head direction (HD) cells are located primarily within the limbic system, but small populations of extralimbic HD cells are found in the medial precentral cortex (PrCM) and dorsal striatum (DS). The neuroanatomical tracing experiments reported here explored the pathways capable of transmitting the HD signal to these extralimbic areas. We found that projections arising from numerous spatial processing structures converge within portions of the PrCM and DS that contain HD cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Max L Mehlman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College , Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Shawn S Winter
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College , Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College , Hanover, New Hampshire
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Anagnostou E, Skarlatou V, Mergner T, Anastasopoulos D. Idiothetic signal processing and spatial orientation in patients with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis. J Neurophysiol 2018; 120:1256-1263. [PMID: 29897863 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00016.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of the hippocampus in spatial navigation and the presence of vestibular-responsive neurons in limbic areas are well-established from animal experiments. However, hippocampal spatial processing in humans is not fully understood. Here, we employed real whole body and head-on-trunk rotations to investigate how vestibular signals, either alone or in combination with neck-proprioceptive stimulation, shape the spatial frame of reference in patients with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis (HS). Patients were asked to point in darkness with a light spot, moved on a cylindrical screen by means of a joystick, into their visual straight-ahead direction (VSA), to remember this direction in space, and to revert back to this point after the rotations. Estimates in patients with HS were compared with those of healthy controls and of patients with epilepsy without hippocampal involvement. All groups produced similar errors after low-frequency vestibular stimuli. These errors were eliminated when rotations involved concurrent neck stimulation. Significantly increased variability was observed, however, in both the VSA and reposition estimates after the rotations in patients with HS compared with controls. These results suggest that cognitive processing of idiothetic signals for self-motion perception is inaccurate in patients with HS. Importantly, however, the responses of patients with HS showed no spatial lateralization with regard to right or left HS, suggesting that the underlying neuronal loss attenuates the precision of head-direction signal decoding in a nondirectional manner. Hence, patients are unable to use these signals as efficiently as normal subjects in the construction of a stable head-centric spatial frame of reference. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Spatial perception relies on combined processing of various idiothetic (vestibular and proprioceptive) and allothetic (visual and auditory) sensory signals. Despite the established knowledge of rodent vestibular-hippocampal interactions, human data are lacking. We investigated idiothetic orientational processing in subjects with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis using various combinations of vestibular and proprioceptive stimuli. Hippocampal impairment leads to less accurate, noisy decoding of the signal related to idiothetic orientation. However, patients did not show any lateralized deficits of visual straight-ahead perception or of target/self-displacement perception after idiothetic stimulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evangelos Anagnostou
- Department of Physiology, School of Health Sciences, University of Athens , Athens , Greece.,Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, University of Athens , Athens , Greece
| | - Vasiliki Skarlatou
- Department of Physiology, School of Health Sciences, University of Athens , Athens , Greece
| | - Thomas Mergner
- Department of Neurology, University of Freiburg , Freiburg im Breisgau , Germany
| | - Dimitri Anastasopoulos
- Department of Physiology, School of Health Sciences, University of Athens , Athens , Greece.,Department of Neurology, University of Ioannina , Ioannina , Greece
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Wang N, Perkins E, Zhou L, Warren S, May PJ. Reticular Formation Connections Underlying Horizontal Gaze: The Central Mesencephalic Reticular Formation (cMRF) as a Conduit for the Collicular Saccade Signal. Front Neuroanat 2017; 11:36. [PMID: 28487639 PMCID: PMC5403835 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2017.00036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The central mesencephalic reticular formation (cMRF) occupies much of the core of the midbrain tegmentum. Physiological studies indicate that it is involved in controlling gaze changes, particularly horizontal saccades. Anatomically, it receives input from the ipsilateral superior colliculus (SC) and it has downstream projections to the brainstem, including the horizontal gaze center located in the paramedian pontine reticular formation (PPRF). Consequently, it has been hypothesized that the cMRF plays a role in the spatiotemporal transformation needed to convert spatially coded collicular saccade signals into the temporally coded signals utilized by the premotor neurons of the horizontal gaze center. In this study, we used neuroanatomical tracers to examine the patterns of connectivity of the cMRF in macaque monkeys in order to determine whether the circuit organization supports this hypothesis. Since stimulation of the cMRF produces contraversive horizontal saccades and stimulation of the horizontal gaze center produces ipsiversive saccades, this would require an excitatory cMRF projection to the contralateral PPRF. Injections of anterograde tracers into the cMRF did produce labeled terminals within the PPRF. However, the terminations were denser ipsilaterally. Since the PPRF located contralateral to the movement direction is generally considered to be silent during a horizontal saccade, we then tested the hypothesis that this ipsilateral reticuloreticular pathway might be inhibitory. The ultrastructure of ipsilateral terminals was heterogeneous, with some displaying more extensive postsynaptic densities than others. Postembedding immunohistochemistry for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) indicated that only a portion (35%) of these cMRF terminals are GABAergic. Dual tracer experiments were undertaken to determine whether the SC provides input to cMRF reticuloreticular neurons projecting to the ipsilateral pons. Retrogradely labeled reticuloreticular neurons were predominantly distributed in the ipsilateral cMRF. Anterogradely labeled tectal terminals were observed in close association with a portion of these retrogradely labeled reticuloreticular neurons. Taken together, these results suggest that the SC does have connections with reticuloreticular neurons in the cMRF. However, the predominantly excitatory nature of the ipsilateral reticuloreticular projection argues against the hypothesis that this cMRF pathway is solely responsible for producing a spatiotemporal transformation of the collicular saccade signal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Niping Wang
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA.,Department of Periodontics and Preventive Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA
| | - Eddie Perkins
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA.,Department of Neurosurgery, University of Mississippi Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA
| | - Lan Zhou
- Department of Internal Medicine, G.V. Montgomery Veterans Administration Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA
| | - Susan Warren
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA
| | - Paul J May
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of Mississippi Medical CenterJackson, MS, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Butler WN, Smith KS, van der Meer MAA, Taube JS. The Head-Direction Signal Plays a Functional Role as a Neural Compass during Navigation. Curr Biol 2017; 27:1259-1267. [PMID: 28416119 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Revised: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The rat limbic system contains head direction (HD) cells that fire according to heading in the horizontal plane, and these cells are thought to provide animals with an internal compass. Previous work has found that HD cell tuning correlates with behavior on navigational tasks, but a direct, causal link between HD cells and navigation has not been demonstrated. Here, we show that pathway-specific optogenetic inhibition of the nucleus prepositus caused HD cells to become directionally unstable under dark conditions without affecting the animals' locomotion. Then, using the same technique, we found that this decoupling of the HD signal in the absence of visual cues caused the animals to make directional homing errors and that the magnitude and direction of these errors were in a range that corresponded to the degree of instability observed in the HD signal. These results provide evidence that the HD signal plays a causal role as a neural compass in navigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- William N Butler
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6207 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Kyle S Smith
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6207 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Matthijs A A van der Meer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6207 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6207 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Abstract
Head direction (HD) cells fire when an animal faces a particular direction in its environment, and they are thought to represent the neural correlate of the animal's perceived spatial orientation. Previous studies have shown that vestibular information is critical for generating the HD signal but have not delineated whether information from all three semicircular canals or just the horizontal canals, which are primarily sensitive to angular head rotation in the horizontal (yaw) plane, are critical for the signal. Here, we monitored cell activity in the anterodorsal thalamus (ADN), an area known to contain HD cells, in epstatic circler (Ecl) mice, which have a bilateral malformation of the horizontal (lateral) semicircular canals. Ecl mice and their littermates that did not express the mutation (controls) were implanted with recording electrodes in the ADN. Results confirm the important role the horizontal canals play in forming the HD signal. Although normal HD cell activity (Raleigh's r > 0.4) was recorded in control mice, no such activity was found in Ecl mice, although some cells had activity that was mildly modulated by HD (0.4 > r > 0.2). Importantly, we also observed activity in Ecl mice that was best characterized as bursty--a pattern of activity similar to an HD signal but without any preferred firing direction. These results suggest that the neural structure for the HD network remains intact in Ecl mice, but the absence of normal horizontal canals results in an inability to control the network properly and brings about an unstable HD signal. Significance statement: Cells in the anterior dorsal thalamic nucleus normally fire in relation to the animal's directional heading with respect to the environment--so-called head direction cells. To understand how these head direction cells generate their activity, we recorded single-unit activity from the anterior dorsal thalamus in transgenic mice that lack functional horizontal semicircular canals. We show that the neural network for the head direction signal remains intact in these mice, but that the absence of normal horizontal canals results in an inability to control the network properly and brings about an unstable head direction signal.
Collapse
|
16
|
Tribukait A, Eiken O. On the time course of short-term forgetting: a human experimental model for the sense of balance. Cogn Neurodyn 2016; 10:7-22. [PMID: 26834858 PMCID: PMC4722133 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-015-9362-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2015] [Revised: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 10/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The primary aim of this study was to establish whether the decline of the memory of an angular displacement, detected by the semicircular canals, is best characterized by an exponential function or by a power function. In 27 subjects a conflict was created between the semicircular canals and the graviceptive systems. Subjects were seated, facing forwards, in the gondola of a large centrifuge. The centrifuge was accelerated from stationary to 2.5Gz. While the swing out of the gondola (66°) during acceleration constitutes a frontal plane angular-displacement stimulus to the semicircular canals, the graviceptive systems persistently signal that the subject is upright. During 6 min at 2.5Gz the perceived head and body position was recorded; in darkness the subject repeatedly adjusted the orientation of a luminous line so that it appeared to be horizontal. Acceleration of the centrifuge induced a sensation of tilt which declined with time in a characteristic way. A three-parameter exponential function (Y = Ae(-bt) + C) and a power function (Y = At(-b) + C) were fitted to the data points. The inter-individual variability was considerable. In the vast majority of cases, however, the exponential function provided a better fit (in terms of RMS error) than the power function. The mean exponential function was: y = 27.8e(-0.018t) + 0.5°, where t is time in seconds. Findings are discussed with connection to possible underlying neural mechanisms; in particular, the head-direction system and short-term potentiation and persistent action potential firing in the hippocampus are considered.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arne Tribukait
- Department of Environmental Physiology, Swedish Aerospace Physiology Centre, School of Technology and Health, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Berzelius väg 13, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Ola Eiken
- Department of Environmental Physiology, Swedish Aerospace Physiology Centre, School of Technology and Health, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Berzelius väg 13, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Page HJI, Walters D, Stringer SM. Architectural constraints are a major factor reducing path integration accuracy in the rat head direction cell system. Front Comput Neurosci 2015; 9:10. [PMID: 25705190 PMCID: PMC4319401 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2015.00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Head direction cells fire to signal the direction in which an animal's head is pointing. They are able to track head direction using only internally-derived information (path integration)In this simulation study we investigate the factors that affect path integration accuracy. Specifically, two major limiting factors are identified: rise time, the time after stimulation it takes for a neuron to start firing, and the presence of symmetric non-offset within-layer recurrent collateral connectivity. On the basis of the latter, the important prediction is made that head direction cell regions directly involved in path integration will not contain this type of connectivity; giving a theoretical explanation for architectural observations. Increased neuronal rise time is found to slow path integration, and the slowing effect for a given rise time is found to be more severe in the context of short conduction delays. Further work is suggested on the basis of our findings, which represent a valuable contribution to understanding of the head direction cell system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hector J I Page
- Departmental of Experimental Psychology, Oxford Center for Theoretical Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, University of Oxford Oxford, UK
| | - Daniel Walters
- Departmental of Experimental Psychology, Oxford Center for Theoretical Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, University of Oxford Oxford, UK
| | - Simon M Stringer
- Departmental of Experimental Psychology, Oxford Center for Theoretical Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, University of Oxford Oxford, UK
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Butler WN, Taube JS. The nucleus prepositus hypoglossi contributes to head direction cell stability in rats. J Neurosci 2015; 35:2547-58. [PMID: 25673848 PMCID: PMC4323533 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3254-14.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2014] [Revised: 11/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Head direction (HD) cells in the rat limbic system fire according to the animal's orientation independently of the animal's environmental location or behavior. These HD cells receive strong inputs from the vestibular system, among other areas, as evidenced by disruption of their directional firing after lesions or inactivation of vestibular inputs. Two brainstem nuclei, the supragenual nucleus (SGN) and nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (NPH), are known to project to the HD network and are thought to be possible relays of vestibular information. Previous work has shown that lesioning the SGN leads to a loss of spatial tuning in downstream HD cells, but the NPH has historically been defined as an oculomotor nuclei and therefore its role in contributing to the HD signal is less clear. Here, we investigated this role by recording HD cells in the anterior thalamus after either neurotoxic or electrolytic lesions of the NPH. There was a total loss of direction-specific firing in anterodorsal thalamus cells in animals with complete NPH lesions. However, many cells were identified that fired in bursts unrelated to the animals' directional heading and were similar to cells seen in previous studies that damaged vestibular-associated areas. Some animals with significant but incomplete lesions of the NPH had HD cells that were stable under normal conditions, but were unstable under conditions designed to minimize the use of external cues. These results support the hypothesis that the NPH, beyond its traditional oculomotor function, plays a critical role in conveying vestibular-related information to the HD circuit.
Collapse
|
19
|
Yoder RM, Peck JR, Taube JS. Visual landmark information gains control of the head direction signal at the lateral mammillary nuclei. J Neurosci 2015; 35:1354-67. [PMID: 25632114 PMCID: PMC4308588 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1418-14.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2014] [Revised: 11/13/2014] [Accepted: 11/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural representation of directional heading is conveyed by head direction (HD) cells located in an ascending circuit that includes projections from the lateral mammillary nuclei (LMN) to the anterodorsal thalamus (ADN) to the postsubiculum (PoS). The PoS provides return projections to LMN and ADN and is responsible for the landmark control of HD cells in ADN. However, the functional role of the PoS projection to LMN has not been tested. The present study recorded HD cells from LMN after bilateral PoS lesions to determine whether the PoS provides landmark control to LMN HD cells. After the lesion and implantation of electrodes, HD cell activity was recorded while rats navigated within a cylindrical arena containing a single visual landmark or while they navigated between familiar and novel arenas of a dual-chamber apparatus. PoS lesions disrupted the landmark control of HD cells and also disrupted the stability of the preferred firing direction of the cells in darkness. Furthermore, PoS lesions impaired the stable HD cell representation maintained by path integration mechanisms when the rat walked between familiar and novel arenas. These results suggest that visual information first gains control of the HD cell signal in the LMN, presumably via the direct PoS → LMN projection. This visual landmark information then controls HD cells throughout the HD cell circuit.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M Yoder
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - James R Peck
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Dumont JR, Taube JS. The neural correlates of navigation beyond the hippocampus. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2015; 219:83-102. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2015.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
|
21
|
Hitier M, Besnard S, Smith PF. Vestibular pathways involved in cognition. Front Integr Neurosci 2014; 8:59. [PMID: 25100954 PMCID: PMC4107830 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2014.00059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2013] [Accepted: 06/30/2014] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent discoveries have emphasized the role of the vestibular system in cognitive processes such as memory, spatial navigation and bodily self-consciousness. A precise understanding of the vestibular pathways involved is essential to understand the consequences of vestibular diseases for cognition, as well as develop therapeutic strategies to facilitate recovery. The knowledge of the “vestibular cortical projection areas”, defined as the cortical areas activated by vestibular stimulation, has dramatically increased over the last several years from both anatomical and functional points of view. Four major pathways have been hypothesized to transmit vestibular information to the vestibular cortex: (1) the vestibulo-thalamo-cortical pathway, which probably transmits spatial information about the environment via the parietal, entorhinal and perirhinal cortices to the hippocampus and is associated with spatial representation and self-versus object motion distinctions; (2) the pathway from the dorsal tegmental nucleus via the lateral mammillary nucleus, the anterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus to the entorhinal cortex, which transmits information for estimations of head direction; (3) the pathway via the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis, the supramammillary nucleus and the medial septum to the hippocampus, which transmits information supporting hippocampal theta rhythm and memory; and (4) a possible pathway via the cerebellum, and the ventral lateral nucleus of the thalamus (perhaps to the parietal cortex), which transmits information for spatial learning. Finally a new pathway is hypothesized via the basal ganglia, potentially involved in spatial learning and spatial memory. From these pathways, progressively emerges the anatomical network of vestibular cognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hitier
- Inserm, U 1075 COMETE Caen, France ; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Brain Health Research Center, University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand ; Department of Anatomy, UNICAEN Caen, France ; Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, CHU de Caen Caen, France
| | | | - Paul F Smith
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Brain Health Research Center, University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Shinder ME, Taube JS. Resolving the active versus passive conundrum for head direction cells. Neuroscience 2014; 270:123-38. [PMID: 24704515 PMCID: PMC4067261 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.03.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2013] [Revised: 03/25/2014] [Accepted: 03/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Head direction (HD) cells have been identified in a number of limbic system structures. These cells encode the animal's perceived directional heading in the horizontal plane and are dependent on an intact vestibular system. Previous studies have reported that the responses of vestibular neurons within the vestibular nuclei are markedly attenuated when an animal makes a volitional head turn compared to passive rotation. This finding presents a conundrum in that if vestibular responses are suppressed during an active head turn how is a vestibular signal propagated forward to drive and update the HD signal? This review identifies and discusses four possible mechanisms that could resolve this problem. These mechanisms are: (1) the ascending vestibular signal is generated by more than just vestibular-only neurons, (2) not all vestibular-only neurons contributing to the HD pathway have firing rates that are attenuated by active head turns, (3) the ascending pathway may be spared from the affects of the attenuation in that the HD system receives information from other vestibular brainstem sites that do not include vestibular-only cells, and (4) the ascending signal is affected by the inhibited vestibular signal during an active head turn, but the HD circuit compensates and uses the altered signal to accurately update the current HD. Future studies will be needed to decipher which of these possibilities is correct.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M E Shinder
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, United States
| | - J S Taube
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Yoder RM, Taube JS. The vestibular contribution to the head direction signal and navigation. Front Integr Neurosci 2014; 8:32. [PMID: 24795578 PMCID: PMC4001061 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2014.00032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2013] [Accepted: 03/24/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial learning and navigation depend on neural representations of location and direction within the environment. These representations, encoded by place cells and head direction (HD) cells, respectively, are dominantly controlled by visual cues, but require input from the vestibular system. Vestibular signals play an important role in forming spatial representations in both visual and non-visual environments, but the details of this vestibular contribution are not fully understood. Here, we review the role of the vestibular system in generating various spatial signals in rodents, focusing primarily on HD cells. We also examine the vestibular system's role in navigation and the possible pathways by which vestibular information is conveyed to higher navigation centers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M. Yoder
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University – Purdue University Fort WayneFort Wayne, IN, USA
| | - Jeffrey S. Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH, USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Abstract
Head direction (HD) cells respond when an animal faces a particular direction in the environment and form the basis for the animal's perceived directional heading. When an animal moves through its environment, accurate updating of the HD signal is required to reflect the current heading, but the cells still maintain a representation of HD even when the animal is motionless. This finding suggests that the HD system holds its current state in the absence of input, a view that we tested by rotating a head-restrained rat in the presence of a prominent visual landmark and then stopping it suddenly when facing the cell's preferred firing direction (PFD). Firing rates were unchanged for the first 100 ms, but then progressively decreased over the next 4 s and stabilized at ∼42% of their initial values. When the rat was stopped facing away from the PFD, there was no initial effect of braking, but the firing rate then increased steadily over 4 s and plateaued at ∼14% of its peak firing rate, substantially above initial background firing rates. In experiment 2, the rat was serially placed facing one of eight equidistant directions over 360° and held there for 30 s. Compared with the cell's peak firing rate during a passive rotation session, firing rates were reduced (51%) for in-PFD directions and increased (∼300%) from background levels for off-PFD directions, values comparable to those observed in the braking protocol. These differential HD cell responses demonstrate the importance of self-motion to the HD signal integrity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Shinder
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Knight R, Hayman R. Allocentric directional processing in the rodent and human retrosplenial cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:135. [PMID: 24672459 PMCID: PMC3956297 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2013] [Accepted: 02/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Head direction (HD) cells in the rodent brain have been investigated for a number of years, providing us with a detailed understanding of how the rodent brain codes for allocentric direction. Allocentric direction refers to the orientation of the external environment, independent of one's current (egocentric) orientation. The presence of neural activity related to allocentric directional coding in humans has also been noted but only recently directly tested. Given the current status of both fields, it seems beneficial to draw parallels between this rodent and human research. We therefore discuss how findings from the human retrosplenial cortex (RSC), including its "translational function" (converting egocentric to allocentric information) and ability to code for permanent objects, compare to findings from the rodent RSC. We conclude by suggesting critical future experiments that derive from a cross-species approach to understanding the function of the human RSC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Knight
- Department of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire Hatfield, UK
| | - Robin Hayman
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, Institute of Neurology, University College London London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Dale A, Cullen KE. The nucleus prepositus predominantly outputs eye movement-related information during passive and active self-motion. J Neurophysiol 2013; 109:1900-11. [PMID: 23324318 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00788.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintaining a constant representation of our heading as we move through the world requires the accurate estimate of spatial orientation. As one turns (or is turned) toward a new heading, signals from the semicircular canals are relayed through the vestibular system to higher-order centers that encode head direction. To date, there is no direct electrophysiological evidence confirming the first relay point of head-motion signals from the vestibular nuclei, but previous anatomical and lesion studies have identified the nucleus prepositus as a likely candidate. Whereas burst-tonic neurons encode only eye-movement signals during head-fixed eye motion and passive vestibular stimulation, these neurons have not been studied during self-generated movements. Here, we specifically address whether burst-tonic neurons encode head motion during active behaviors. Single-unit responses were recorded from the nucleus prepositus of rhesus monkeys and compared for head-restrained and active conditions with comparable eye velocities. We found that neurons consistently encoded eye position and velocity across conditions but did not exhibit significant sensitivity to head position or velocity. Additionally, response sensitivities varied as a function of eye velocity, similar to abducens motoneurons and consistent with their role in gaze control and stabilization. Thus our results demonstrate that the primate nucleus prepositus chiefly encodes eye movement even during active head-movement behaviors, a finding inconsistent with the proposal that this nucleus makes a direct contribution to head-direction cell tuning. Given its ascending projections, however, we speculate that this eye-movement information is integrated with other inputs in establishing higher-order spatial representations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Dale
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Clark BJ, Brown JE, Taube JS. Head direction cell activity in the anterodorsal thalamus requires intact supragenual nuclei. J Neurophysiol 2012; 108:2767-84. [PMID: 22875899 PMCID: PMC3545120 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00295.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural activity in several limbic areas varies as a function of the animal's head direction (HD) in the horizontal plane. Lesions of the vestibular periphery abolish this HD cell signal, suggesting an essential role for vestibular afference in HD signal generation. The organization of brain stem pathways conveying vestibular information to the HD circuit is poorly understood; however, recent anatomical work has identified the supragenual nucleus (SGN) as a putative relay. To test this hypothesis, we made lesions of the SGN in rats and screened for HD cells in the anterodorsal thalamus. In animals with complete bilateral lesions, the overall number of HD cells was significantly reduced relative to control animals. In animals with unilateral lesions of the SGN, directional activity was present, but the preferred firing directions of these cells were unstable and less influenced by the rotation of an environmental landmark. In addition, we found that preferred directions displayed large directional shifts when animals foraged for food in a darkened environment and when they were navigating from a familiar environment to a novel one, suggesting that the SGN plays a critical role in projecting essential self-motion (idiothetic) information to the HD cell circuit.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J Clark
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
28
|
Clark BJ, Taube JS. Vestibular and attractor network basis of the head direction cell signal in subcortical circuits. Front Neural Circuits 2012; 6:7. [PMID: 22454618 PMCID: PMC3308332 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2012.00007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2011] [Accepted: 02/14/2012] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate navigation depends on a network of neural systems that encode the moment-to-moment changes in an animal's directional orientation and location in space. Within this navigation system are head direction (HD) cells, which fire persistently when an animal's head is pointed in a particular direction (Sharp et al., 2001a; Taube, 2007). HD cells are widely thought to underlie an animal's sense of spatial orientation, and research over the last 25+ years has revealed that this robust spatial signal is widely distributed across subcortical and cortical limbic areas. The purpose of the present review is to summarize some of the recent studies arguing that the origin of the HD signal resides subcortically, specifically within the reciprocal connections of the dorsal tegmental and lateral mammillary nuclei. Furthermore, we review recent work identifying "bursting" cellular activity in the HD cell circuit after lesions of the vestibular system, and relate these observations to the long held view that attractor network mechanisms underlie HD signal generation. Finally, we summarize anatomical and physiological work suggesting that this attractor network architecture may reside within the tegmento-mammillary circuit.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeffrey S. Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, HanoverNH, USA
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Shinder ME, Taube JS. Active and passive movement are encoded equally by head direction cells in the anterodorsal thalamus. J Neurophysiol 2011; 106:788-800. [PMID: 21613594 DOI: 10.1152/jn.01098.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The head direction (HD) system is composed of cells that represent the direction in which the animal's head is facing. Each HD cell responds optimally when the head is pointing in a particular, or preferred, direction. Although vestibular system input is necessary to generate the directional signal, motor/proprioceptive inputs can also influence HD cell responses. Previous studies comparing active and passive movement have reported significant suppression of the HD signal during passive restraint. However, in each of these studies there was considerable variability across cells, and the animal's head was never completely fixed. To address these issues, we developed a passive restraint system that more fully prevented head and body movement. HD cell responses in the anterodorsal thalamus (ADN) were evaluated during active and passive movement with this new system. Contrary to previous reports, HD cell responses were not affected by passive restraint. Both head-fixed and hand-held restraint failed to produce significant inhibition of the active HD cell response. Furthermore, direction-specific firing was maintained regardless of 1) the animal's previous experience with restraint, 2) whether it was tested in the light or dark, or 3) the position of the animal relative to the axis of rotation. The maintenance of a stable directional signal without appropriate motor, proprioceptive, or visual input indicates that vestibular input is necessary and sufficient for the generation of the HD signal. Motor and proprioceptive influences may therefore be important for the control of the preferred firing direction of HD cells, but not the generation of the signal itself.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Shinder
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6207 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
30
|
Clark BJ, Taube JS. Intact landmark control and angular path integration by head direction cells in the anterodorsal thalamus after lesions of the medial entorhinal cortex. Hippocampus 2010; 21:767-82. [PMID: 21049489 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.20874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/13/2010] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) occupies a central position within neural circuits devoted to the representation of spatial location and orientation. The MEC contains cells that fire as a function of the animal's head direction (HD), as well as grid cells that fire in multiple locations in an environment, forming a repeating hexagonal pattern. The MEC receives inputs from widespread areas of the cortical mantle including the ventral visual stream, which processes object recognition information, as well as information about visual landmarks. The role of the MEC in processing the HD signal or landmark information is unclear. We addressed this issue by neurotoxically damaging the MEC and recording HD cells within the anterodorsal thalamus (ADN). Direction-specific activity was present in the ADN of all animals with MEC lesions. Moreover, the discharge characteristics of ADN HD cells were only mildly affected by MEC lesions, with HD cells exhibiting greater anticipation of future HDs. Tests of landmark control revealed that HD cells in lesioned rats were capable of accurately updating their preferred firing directions in relation to a salient visual cue. Furthermore, cells from lesioned animals maintained stable preferred firing directions when locomoting in darkness and demonstrated stable HD cell tuning when locomoting into a novel enclosure, suggesting that MEC lesions did not disrupt the integration of idiothetic cues, or angular path integration, by HD cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that the MEC plays a limited role in the formation and spatial updating of the HD cell signal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J Clark
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
31
|
Taube JS. Interspike interval analyses reveal irregular firing patterns at short, but not long, intervals in rat head direction cells. J Neurophysiol 2010; 104:1635-48. [PMID: 20592120 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00649.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that a subset of neurons in the rat anterodorsal thalamus discharge as a function of the animal's head direction (HD) in the horizontal plane, independent of the animal's location and behavior. These cells have consistent firing properties across a wide range of conditions and cell discharge appears highly regular when listened to through a loudspeaker. In contrast, interspike interval (ISI) analyses on cortical cells have found that cell firing is irregular, even under constant stimulus conditions. Here, we analyzed HD cells from the anterodorsal thalamus, while rats foraged for food pellets, to determine whether their firing was regular or irregular. ISIs were measured when the animal's HD was maintained within ± 6° of the cell's preferred firing direction. ISIs were highly variable with a mean coefficient of variation (CV) of 0.681. For each cell, the CV values at HDs ± 24° away from the cell's preferred direction were similar to the coefficient measured at the cell's preferred direction. A second recording session showed that cells had similar coefficients of variation as the first session, suggesting that the degree of variability in cell spiking was a characteristic property for each cell. There was little correlation between ISIs and angular head velocity or translational speed. ISIs measured in HD cells from the postsubiculum and lateral mammillary nuclei showed higher CV values. These results indicate that despite the appearance of regularity in their firing, HD cells, like cortical cells, have irregular ISIs. In contrast to the irregular firing observed for ISIs, analyses over longer time intervals indicated that HD cell firing was much more regular, more nearly resembling a rate code. These findings have implications for attractor networks that model the HD signal and for models proposed to explain the generation of grid cell signals in entorhinal cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey S Taube
- Dartmouth College, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 6207 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Yoder RM, Taube JS. Projections to the anterodorsal thalamus and lateral mammillary nuclei arise from different cell populations within the postsubiculum: implications for the control of head direction cells. Hippocampus 2010; 21:1062-73. [PMID: 20575008 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.20820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/29/2010] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The neural representation of directional heading is encoded by a population of cells located in a circuit that includes the postsubiculum (PoS), anterodorsal thalamus (ADN), and lateral mammillary nuclei (LMN). Throughout this circuit, many cells rely on both movement- and landmark-related information to discharge as a function of the animal's directional heading. The PoS projects to both the ADN and LMN, and these connections may convey critical spatial information about landmarks, because lesions of the PoS disrupt landmark control in head direction (HD) cells and hippocampal place cells [Goodridge and Taube (1997) J Neurosci 17:9315-9330; Calton et al. (2003) J Neurosci 23:9719-9731]. The PoS → ADN projection originates in the deep layers of PoS, but no studies have determined whether the PoS → LMN projection originates from the same cells that project to ADN. To address this issue, two distinct cholera toxin-subunit B (CTB) fluorophore conjugates (Alexa Fluor 488 and Alexa Fluor 594) were injected into the LMN and ADN of the same rats, and PoS sections were examined for cell bodies containing either or both CTB conjugates. Results indicated that the PoS → LMN projection originates exclusively from a thin layer of cells located superficial to the layer(s) of PoS → ADN projection cells, with no overlap. To verify the laminar distribution and morphological characteristics of PoS → LMN and PoS → ADN cells, biotinylated dextran amine was injected into LMN or ADN of different rats, and tissue sections were counterstained with thionin. Results indicated that the PoS → LMN projection arises from large pyramidal cells in layer IV, whereas the PoS → ADN projection arises from a heterogeneous cell population in layers V/VI. This study provides the first evidence that the PoS → ADN and PoS → LMN projections arise from distinct, nonoverlapping cell layers in PoS. Functionally, the PoS may provide landmark information to HD cells in LMN.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M Yoder
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
Clark BJ, Bassett JP, Wang SS, Taube JS. Impaired head direction cell representation in the anterodorsal thalamus after lesions of the retrosplenial cortex. J Neurosci 2010; 30:5289-302. [PMID: 20392951 PMCID: PMC2861549 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3380-09.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2009] [Revised: 02/25/2010] [Accepted: 03/03/2010] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSP), a brain region frequently linked to processes of spatial navigation, contains neurons that discharge as a function of a rat's head direction (HD). HD cells have been identified throughout the limbic system including the anterodorsal thalamus (ADN) and postsubiculum (PoS), both of which are reciprocally connected to the RSP. The functional relationship between HD cells in the RSP and those found in other limbic regions is presently unknown, but given the intimate connectivity between the RSP and regions such as the ADN and PoS, and the reported loss of spatial orientation in rodents and humans with RSP damage, it is likely that the RSP plays an important role in processing the limbic HD signal. To test this hypothesis, we produced neurotoxic or electrolytic lesions of the RSP and recorded HD cells in the ADN of female Long-Evans rats. HD cells remained present in the ADN after RSP lesions, but the stability of their preferred firing directions was significantly reduced even in the presence of a salient visual landmark. Subsequent tests revealed that lesions of the RSP moderately impaired landmark control over the cells' preferred firing directions, but spared the cells directional stability when animals were required to update their orientation using self-movement cues. Together, these results suggest that the RSP plays a prominent role in processing landmark information for accurate HD cell orientation and may explain the poor directional sense in humans that follows damage to the RSP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J. Clark
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Joshua P. Bassett
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Sarah S. Wang
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Jeffrey S. Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Yoder RM, Taube JS. Head direction cell activity in mice: robust directional signal depends on intact otolith organs. J Neurosci 2009; 29:1061-76. [PMID: 19176815 PMCID: PMC2768409 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1679-08.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2008] [Revised: 12/16/2008] [Accepted: 12/17/2008] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The head direction (HD) cell signal is a representation of an animal's perceived directional heading with respect to its environment. This signal appears to originate in the vestibular system, which includes the semicircular canals and otolith organs. Preliminary studies indicate the semicircular canals provide a necessary component of the HD signal, but involvement of otolithic information in the HD signal has not been tested. The present study was designed to determine the otolithic contribution to the HD signal, as well as to compare HD cell activity of mice with that of rats. HD cell activity in the anterodorsal thalamus was assessed in wild-type C57BL/6J and otoconia-deficient tilted mice during locomotion within a cylinder containing a prominent visual landmark. HD cell firing properties in C57BL/6J mice were generally similar to those in rats. However, in C57BL/6J mice, landmark rotation failed to demonstrate dominant control of the HD signal in 36% of the sessions. In darkness, directional firing became unstable during 42% of the sessions, but landmark control was not associated with HD signal stability in darkness. HD cells were identified in tilted mice, but directional firing properties were not as robust as those of C57BL/6J mice. Most HD cells in tilted mice were controlled by landmark rotation but showed substantial signal degradation across trials. These results support current models that suggest otolithic information is involved in the perception of directional heading. Furthermore, compared with rats, the HD signal in mice appears to be less reliably anchored to prominent environmental cues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M. Yoder
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Jeffrey S. Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Clark BJ, Sarma A, Taube JS. Head direction cell instability in the anterior dorsal thalamus after lesions of the interpeduncular nucleus. J Neurosci 2009; 29:493-507. [PMID: 19144850 PMCID: PMC2768376 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2811-08.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2008] [Revised: 11/30/2008] [Accepted: 12/01/2008] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has identified a population of cells throughout the limbic system that discharge as a function of the animal's head direction (HD). Altering normal motor cues can alter the HD cell responses and disrupt the updating of their preferred firing directions, thus suggesting that motor cues contribute to processing the HD signal. A pathway that conveys motor information may stem from the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN), a brain region that has reciprocal connections with HD cell circuitry. To test this hypothesis, we produced electrolytic or neurotoxic lesions of the IPN and recorded HD cells in the anterior dorsal thalamus (ADN) of rats. Direction-specific firing remained present in the ADN after lesions of the IPN, but measures of HD cell properties showed that cells had reduced peak firing rates, large directional firing ranges, and firing that predicted the animal's future heading more than in intact controls. Furthermore, preferred firing directions were moderately less influenced by rotation of a salient visual landmark. Finally, the preferred directions of cells in lesioned rats exhibited large shifts when the animals foraged for scattered food pellets in a darkened environment and when locomoting from a familiar environment to a novel one. We propose that the IPN contributes motor information about the animal's movements to the HD cell circuitry. Furthermore, these results suggest that the IPN plays a broad role in the discharge properties and stability of direction-specific activity in the HD cell circuit.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J. Clark
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Asha Sarma
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Jeffrey S. Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Abstract
Navigation first requires accurate perception of one's spatial orientation within the environment, which consists of knowledge about location and directional heading. Cells within several limbic system areas of the mammalian brain discharge allocentrically as a function of the animal's directional heading, independent of the animal's location and ongoing behavior. These cells are referred to as head direction (HD) cells and are believed to encode the animal's perceived directional heading with respect to its environment. Although HD cells are found in several areas, the principal circuit for generating this signal originates in the dorsal tegmental nucleus and projects serially, with some reciprocal connections, to the lateral mammillary nucleus --> anterodorsal thalamus --> PoS, and terminates in the entorhinal cortex. HD cells receive multimodal information about landmarks and self-generated movements. Vestibular information appears critical for generating the directional signal, but motor/proprioceptive and landmark information are important for updating it.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey S Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, 03755, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Bassett JP, Tullman ML, Taube JS. Lesions of the tegmentomammillary circuit in the head direction system disrupt the head direction signal in the anterior thalamus. J Neurosci 2007; 27:7564-77. [PMID: 17626218 PMCID: PMC6672597 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0268-07.2007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2006] [Revised: 05/09/2007] [Accepted: 05/28/2007] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Head direction (HD) cells in the rodent limbic system are believed to correspond to a cognitive representation of directional heading in the environment. Lesions of vestibular hair cells disrupt the characteristic firing patterns of HD cells, and thus vestibular afference is a critical contributor to the HD signal. A subcortical pathway that may convey this information includes the dorsal tegmental nucleus of Gudden (DTN) and the lateral mammillary nucleus (LMN). To test the hypothesis that the DTN and LMN are critical components for generating HD cell activity, we made electrolytic lesions of the DTN or LMN in rats and screened for HD cell activity in the anterior thalamus. Directional activity was absent in all animals with complete LMN lesions and in animals with complete DTN lesions, although a few HD cells were isolated in animals with incomplete lesions. Some DTN-lesioned animals contained cells whose firing rates were modulated by angular head velocity. Although cells with bursting patterns of activity have been observed in the anterior dorsal nucleus of the thalamus of animals with disruption of vestibular inputs, this pattern of activity was not observed in either the LMN- or DTN-lesioned animals. The general absence of direction-specific activity in the anterior thalamus of animals with DTN or LMN lesions is consistent with the view that the DTN-LMN circuit is essential for the generation of HD cell activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua P. Bassett
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Matthew L. Tullman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - Jeffrey S. Taube
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| |
Collapse
|