1
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LaChance PA, Hasselmo ME. Distinct codes for environment structure and symmetry in postrhinal and retrosplenial cortices. Nat Commun 2024; 15:8025. [PMID: 39271679 PMCID: PMC11399390 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52315-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Complex sensory information arrives in the brain from an animal's first-person ('egocentric') perspective. However, animals can efficiently navigate as if referencing map-like ('allocentric') representations. The postrhinal (POR) and retrosplenial (RSC) cortices are thought to mediate between sensory input and internal maps, combining egocentric representations of physical cues with allocentric head direction (HD) information. Here we show that neurons in the POR and RSC of female Long-Evans rats are tuned to distinct but complementary aspects of local space. Egocentric bearing (EB) cells recorded in square and L-shaped environments reveal that RSC cells encode local geometric features, while POR cells encode a more global account of boundary geometry. Additionally, POR HD cells can incorporate egocentric information to fire in two opposite directions with two oppositely placed identical visual landmarks, while only a subset of RSC HD cells possess this property. Entorhinal grid and HD cells exhibit consistently allocentric spatial firing properties. These results reveal significant regional differences in the neural encoding of spatial reference frames.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A LaChance
- Center for Systems Neuroscience and Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Michael E Hasselmo
- Center for Systems Neuroscience and Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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2
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Balcerek E, Włodkowska U, Czajkowski R. FOS mapping reveals two complementary circuits for spatial navigation in mouse. Sci Rep 2024; 14:21252. [PMID: 39261637 PMCID: PMC11391074 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-72272-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Here, we show that during continuous navigation in a dynamic external environment, mice are capable of developing a foraging strategy based exclusively on changing distal (allothetic) information and that this process may involve two alternative components of the spatial memory circuit: the hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex. To this end, we designed a novel custom apparatus and implemented a behavioral protocol based on the figure-8-maze paradigm with two goal locations associated with distinct contexts. We assessed whether mice are able to learn to retrieve a sequence of rewards guided exclusively by the changing context. We found out that training mice in the apparatus leads to change in strategy from the internal tendency to alternate into navigation based exclusively on visual information. This effect could be achieved using two different training protocols: prolonged alternation training, or a flexible protocol with unpredictable turn succession. Based on the c-FOS mapping we also provide evidence of opposing levels of engagement of hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex after training of mice in these two different regimens. This supports the hypothesis of the existence of parallel circuits guiding spatial navigation, one based on the well-described hippocampal representation, and another, RSC-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edyta Balcerek
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Urszula Włodkowska
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Rafał Czajkowski
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland.
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3
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Subramanian DL, Smith DM. Time cells in the retrosplenial cortex. Hippocampus 2024. [PMID: 39206817 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 08/15/2024] [Accepted: 08/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a key component of the brain's memory systems, with anatomical connections to the hippocampus, anterior thalamus, and entorhinal cortex. This circuit has been implicated in episodic memory and many of these structures have been shown to encode temporal information, which is critical for episodic memory. For example, hippocampal time cells reliably fire during specific segments of time during a delay period. Although RSC lesions are known to disrupt temporal memory, time cells have not been observed there. In this study, we reanalyzed archival RSC neuronal firing data during the intertrial delay period from two previous experiments involving different behavioral tasks, a blocked alternation task and a cued T-maze task. For the blocked alternation task, rats were required to approach the east or west arm of a plus maze for reward during different blocks of trials. Because the reward locations were not cued, the rat had to remember the goal location for each trial. In the cued T-maze task, the reward location was explicitly cued with a light and the rats simply had to approach the light for reward, so there was no requirement to hold a memory during the intertrial delay. Time cells were prevalent in the blocked alternation task, and most time cells clearly differentiated the east and west trials. We also found that RSC neurons could exhibit off-response time fields, periods of reliably inhibited firing. Time cells were also observed in the cued T-maze, but they were less prevalent and they did not differentiate left and right trials as well as in the blocked alternation task, suggesting that RSC time cells are sensitive to the memory demands of the task. These results suggest that temporal coding is a prominent feature of RSC firing patterns, consistent with an RSC role in episodic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David M Smith
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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4
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Park K, Yeo Y, Shin K, Kwag J. Egocentric neural representation of geometric vertex in the retrosplenial cortex. Nat Commun 2024; 15:7156. [PMID: 39169030 PMCID: PMC11339352 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51391-w] [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: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Egocentric neural representations of environmental features, such as edges and vertices, are important for constructing a geometrically detailed egocentric cognitive map for goal-directed navigation and episodic memory. While egocentric neural representations of edges like egocentric boundary/border cells exist, those that selectively represent vertices egocentrically are yet unknown. Here we report that granular retrosplenial cortex (RSC) neurons in male mice generate spatial receptive fields exclusively near the vertices of environmental geometries during free exploration, termed vertex cells. Their spatial receptive fields occurred at a specific orientation and distance relative to the heading direction of mice, indicating egocentric vector coding of vertex. Removing physical boundaries defining the environmental geometry abolished the egocentric vector coding of vertex, and goal-directed navigation strengthened the egocentric vector coding at the goal-located vertex. Our findings suggest that egocentric vector coding of vertex by granular RSC neurons helps construct an egocentric cognitive map that guides goal-directed navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyerl Park
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoonsoo Yeo
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Kisung Shin
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeehyun Kwag
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.
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5
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Fischer LF, Xu L, Murray KT, Harnett MT. Learning to use landmarks for navigation amplifies their representation in retrosplenial cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.18.607457. [PMID: 39229229 PMCID: PMC11370392 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.18.607457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
Visual landmarks provide powerful reference signals for efficient navigation by altering the activity of spatially tuned neurons, such as place cells, head direction cells, and grid cells. To understand the neural mechanism by which landmarks exert such strong influence, it is necessary to identify how these visual features gain spatial meaning. In this study, we characterized visual landmark representations in mouse retrosplenial cortex (RSC) using chronic two-photon imaging of the same neuronal ensembles over the course of spatial learning. We found a pronounced increase in landmark-referenced activity in RSC neurons that, once established, remained stable across days. Changing behavioral context by uncoupling treadmill motion from visual feedback systematically altered neuronal responses associated with the coherence between visual scene flow speed and self-motion. To explore potential underlying mechanisms, we modeled how burst firing, mediated by supralinear somatodendritic interactions, could efficiently mediate context- and coherence-dependent integration of landmark information. Our results show that visual encoding shifts to landmark-referenced and context-dependent codes as these cues take on spatial meaning during learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas F Fischer
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Liane Xu
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Keith T Murray
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mark T Harnett
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
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6
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Subramanian DL, Miller AMP, Smith DM. A comparison of hippocampal and retrosplenial cortical spatial and contextual firing patterns. Hippocampus 2024; 34:357-377. [PMID: 38770779 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23610] [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: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
The hippocampus (HPC) and retrosplenial cortex (RSC) are key components of the brain's memory and navigation systems. Lesions of either region produce profound deficits in spatial cognition and HPC neurons exhibit well-known spatial firing patterns (place fields). Recent studies have also identified an array of navigation-related firing patterns in the RSC. However, there has been little work comparing the response properties and information coding mechanisms of these two brain regions. In the present study, we examined the firing patterns of HPC and RSC neurons in two tasks which are commonly used to study spatial cognition in rodents, open field foraging with an environmental context manipulation and continuous T-maze alternation. We found striking similarities in the kinds of spatial and contextual information encoded by these two brain regions. Neurons in both regions carried information about the rat's current spatial location, trajectories and goal locations, and both regions reliably differentiated the contexts. However, we also found several key differences. For example, information about head direction was a prominent component of RSC representations but was only weakly encoded in the HPC. The two regions also used different coding schemes, even when they encoded the same kind of information. As expected, the HPC employed a sparse coding scheme characterized by compact, high contrast place fields, and information about spatial location was the dominant component of HPC representations. RSC firing patterns were more consistent with a distributed coding scheme. Instead of compact place fields, RSC neurons exhibited broad, but reliable, spatial and directional tuning, and they typically carried information about multiple navigational variables. The observed similarities highlight the closely related functions of the HPC and RSC, whereas the differences in information types and coding schemes suggest that these two regions likely make somewhat different contributions to spatial cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adam M P Miller
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - David M Smith
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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7
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Subramanian DL, Miller AM, Smith DM. The Retrosplenial Cortical Role in Delayed Spatial Alternation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.18.599656. [PMID: 38948695 PMCID: PMC11212980 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.18.599656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) plays an important role in spatial cognition. RSC neurons exhibit a variety of spatial firing patterns and lesion studies have found that the RSC is necessary for spatial working memory tasks. However, little is known about how RSC neurons might encode spatial memory during a delay period. In the present study, we trained control rats and rats with excitotoxic lesions of the RSC on spatial alternation task with varying delay durations and in a separate group of rats, we recorded RSC neuronal activity as the rats performed the alternation task. We found that RSC lesions significantly impaired alternation performance, particularly at the longest delay duration. We also found that RSC neurons exhibited reliably different firing patterns throughout the delay periods preceding left and right trials, consistent with a working memory signal. These differential firing patterns were absent during the delay periods preceding errors. We also found that many RSC neurons exhibit a large spike in firing rate leading up to the start of the trial. Many of these trial start responses also differentiated left and right trials, suggesting that they could play a role in priming the 'go left' or 'go right' behavioral responses. Our results suggest that these firing patterns represent critical memory information that underlies the RSC role in spatial working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - David M. Smith
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
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8
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Long X, Deng B, Shen R, Yang L, Chen L, Ran Q, Du X, Zhang SJ. Border cells without theta rhythmicity in the medial prefrontal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2321614121. [PMID: 38857401 PMCID: PMC11194599 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2321614121] [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: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a key brain structure for higher cognitive functions such as decision-making and goal-directed behavior, many of which require awareness of spatial variables including one's current position within the surrounding environment. Although previous studies have reported spatially tuned activities in mPFC during memory-related trajectory, the spatial tuning of mPFC network during freely foraging behavior remains elusive. Here, we reveal geometric border or border-proximal representations from the neural activity of mPFC ensembles during naturally exploring behavior, with both allocentric and egocentric boundary responses. Unlike most of classical border cells in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) discharging along a single wall, a large majority of border cells in mPFC fire particularly along four walls. mPFC border cells generate new firing fields to external insert, and remain stable under darkness, across distinct shapes, and in novel environments. In contrast to hippocampal theta entrainment during spatial working memory tasks, mPFC border cells rarely exhibited theta rhythmicity during spontaneous locomotion behavior. These findings reveal spatially modulated activity in mPFC, supporting local computation for cognitive functions involving spatial context and contributing to a broad spatial tuning property of cortical circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyang Long
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing400037, China
| | - Bin Deng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing400037, China
| | - Rui Shen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing400037, China
| | - Lin Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing400037, China
| | - Liping Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing400037, China
| | - Qingxia Ran
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing400037, China
| | - Xin Du
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing400037, China
| | - Sheng-Jia Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing400037, China
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9
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Jedrasiak-Cape I, Rybicki-Kler C, Brooks I, Ghosh M, Brennan EK, Kailasa S, Ekins TG, Rupp A, Ahmed OJ. Cell-type-specific cholinergic control of granular retrosplenial cortex with implications for angular velocity coding across brain states. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.04.597341. [PMID: 38895393 PMCID: PMC11185600 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.04.597341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Cholinergic receptor activation enables the persistent firing of cortical pyramidal neurons, providing a key cellular basis for theories of spatial navigation involving working memory, path integration, and head direction encoding. The granular retrosplenial cortex (RSG) is important for spatially-guided behaviors, but how acetylcholine impacts RSG neurons is unknown. Here, we show that a transcriptomically, morphologically, and biophysically distinct RSG cell-type - the low-rheobase (LR) neuron - has a very distinct expression profile of cholinergic muscarinic receptors compared to all other neighboring excitatory neuronal subtypes. LR neurons do not fire persistently in response to cholinergic agonists, in stark contrast to all other principal neuronal subtypes examined within the RSG and across midline cortex. This lack of persistence allows LR neuron models to rapidly compute angular head velocity (AHV), independent of cholinergic changes seen during navigation. Thus, LR neurons can consistently compute AHV across brain states, highlighting the specialized RSG neural codes supporting navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chloe Rybicki-Kler
- Dept. of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Isla Brooks
- Dept. of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Megha Ghosh
- Dept. of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Ellen K.W. Brennan
- Dept. of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Sameer Kailasa
- Dept. of Mathematics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Tyler G. Ekins
- Dept. of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Alan Rupp
- Dept. of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Omar J. Ahmed
- Dept. of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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10
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Qiu Y, Li H, Liao J, Chen K, Wu X, Liu B, Huang R. Forming cognitive maps for abstract spaces: the roles of the human hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex. Commun Biol 2024; 7:517. [PMID: 38693344 PMCID: PMC11063219 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06214-5] [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: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024] Open
Abstract
How does the human brain construct cognitive maps for decision-making and inference? Here, we conduct an fMRI study on a navigation task in multidimensional abstract spaces. Using a deep neural network model, we assess learning levels and categorized paths into exploration and exploitation stages. Univariate analyses show higher activation in the bilateral hippocampus and lateral prefrontal cortex during exploration, positively associated with learning level and response accuracy. Conversely, the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and retrosplenial cortex show higher activation during exploitation, negatively associated with learning level and response accuracy. Representational similarity analysis show that the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and OFC more accurately represent destinations in exploitation than exploration stages. These findings highlight the collaboration between the medial temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex in learning abstract space structures. The hippocampus may be involved in spatial memory formation and representation, while the OFC integrates sensory information for decision-making in multidimensional abstract spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yidan Qiu
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Huakang Li
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Jiajun Liao
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Kemeng Chen
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Bingyi Liu
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
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11
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Hayashi T, Sato N. Contribution of the retrosplenial cortex to route selection in a complex maze. Neurosci Res 2024; 202:52-59. [PMID: 38043596 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2023.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a region involved in navigation. In this study, we investigated the role of the RSC in navigation in a large-scale environment where the destination is not visible from the current location. We used a large maze where the routes could be freely designed by inserting and removing plates. In Experiment 1, rats learned a specific route in the maze and then were tested with a shortcut route in addition to the learned route. The rats with RSC lesions utilized the shortcut faster than those in the control group. In Experiment 2, rats were initially trained to follow a specific route, and subsequently, we tested the effects of a small change in the environment on their route-following behavior. In the test, the rats with RSC lesions demonstrated more errors than those in the control group. This suggests that lesions in the RSC make navigation to a goal unstable. These findings suggest that the RSC may be involved in the ability to perform appropriate behavior at a segment on a learned route in a large-scale environment, which drives habitually following the learned route.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomohiro Hayashi
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kwansei Gakuin University, 1-1-155, Uegahara, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 662-8501, Japan
| | - Nobuya Sato
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kwansei Gakuin University, 1-1-155, Uegahara, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 662-8501, Japan; Center for Applied Psychological Science (CAPS), Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan.
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12
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Hoang TH, Manahan-Vaughan D. Differentiated somatic gene expression is triggered in the dorsal hippocampus and the anterior retrosplenial cortex by hippocampal synaptic plasticity prompted by spatial content learning. Brain Struct Funct 2024; 229:639-655. [PMID: 37690045 PMCID: PMC10978647 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02694-z] [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: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Hippocampal afferent inputs, terminating on proximal and distal subfields of the cornus ammonis (CA), enable the functional discrimination of 'what' (item identity) and 'where' (spatial location) elements of a spatial representation. This kind of information is supported by structures such as the retrosplenial cortex (RSC). Spatial content learning promotes the expression of hippocampal synaptic plasticity, particularly long-term depression (LTD). In the CA1 region, this is specifically facilitated by the learning of item-place features of a spatial environment. Gene-tagging, by means of time-locked fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to detect nuclear expression of immediate early genes, can reveal neuronal populations that engage in experience-dependent information encoding. In the current study, using FISH, we examined if learning-facilitated LTD results in subfield-specific information encoding in the hippocampus and RSC. Rats engaged in novel exploration of small items during stimulation of Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses. This resulted in LTD (> 24 h). FISH, to detect nuclear expression of Homer1a, revealed that the distal-CA1 and proximal-CA3 subcompartments were particularly activated by this event. By contrast, all elements of the proximodistal cornus ammonis-axis showed equal nuclear Homer1a expression following LTD induction solely by means of afferent stimulation. The RSC exhibited stronger nuclear Homer1a expression in response to learning-facilitated LTD, and to novel item-place experience, compared to LTD induced by sole afferent stimulation in CA1. These results show that both the cornus ammonis and RSC engage in differentiated information encoding of item-place learning that is salient enough, in its own right, to drive the expression of hippocampal LTD. These results also reveal a novel role of the RSC in item-place learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thu-Huong Hoang
- Medical Faculty, Department of Neurophysiology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, MA 4/150, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Denise Manahan-Vaughan
- Medical Faculty, Department of Neurophysiology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, MA 4/150, 44780, Bochum, Germany.
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13
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van der Goes MSH, Voigts J, Newman JP, Toloza EHS, Brown NJ, Murugan P, Harnett MT. Coordinated head direction representations in mouse anterodorsal thalamic nucleus and retrosplenial cortex. eLife 2024; 13:e82952. [PMID: 38470232 PMCID: PMC10932540 DOI: 10.7554/elife.82952] [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: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The sense of direction is critical for survival in changing environments and relies on flexibly integrating self-motion signals with external sensory cues. While the anatomical substrates involved in head direction (HD) coding are well known, the mechanisms by which visual information updates HD representations remain poorly understood. Retrosplenial cortex (RSC) plays a key role in forming coherent representations of space in mammals and it encodes a variety of navigational variables, including HD. Here, we use simultaneous two-area tetrode recording to show that RSC HD representation is nearly synchronous with that of the anterodorsal nucleus of thalamus (ADn), the obligatory thalamic relay of HD to cortex, during rotation of a prominent visual cue. Moreover, coordination of HD representations in the two regions is maintained during darkness. We further show that anatomical and functional connectivity are consistent with a strong feedforward drive of HD information from ADn to RSC, with anatomically restricted corticothalamic feedback. Together, our results indicate a concerted global HD reference update across cortex and thalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Sophie H van der Goes
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Jakob Voigts
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Open-Ephys IncAtlantaUnited States
- HHMI Janelia Research CampusAshburnUnited States
| | - Jonathan P Newman
- Open-Ephys IncAtlantaUnited States
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Enrique HS Toloza
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Norma J Brown
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Pranav Murugan
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Mark T Harnett
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
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14
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Subramanian DL, Smith DM. Time Cells in the Retrosplenial Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.01.583039. [PMID: 38464235 PMCID: PMC10925311 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.01.583039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a key component of the brain's memory systems, with anatomical connections to the hippocampus, anterior thalamus, and entorhinal cortex. This circuit has been implicated in episodic memory and many of these structures have been shown to encode temporal information, which is critical for episodic memory. For example, hippocampal time cells reliably fire during specific segments of time during a delay period. Although RSC lesions are known to disrupt temporal memory, time cells have not been observed there. In the present study, we examined the firing patterns of RSC neurons during the intertrial delay period of two behavioral tasks, a blocked alternation task and a cued T-maze task. For the blocked alternation task, rats were required to approach the east or west arm of a plus maze for reward during different blocks of trials. Because the reward locations were not cued, the rat had to remember the goal location for each trial. In the cued T-maze task, the reward location was explicitly cued with a light and the rats simply had to approach the light for reward, so there was no requirement to hold a memory during the intertrial delay. Time cells were prevalent in the blocked alternation task, and most time cells clearly differentiated the east and west trials. We also found that RSC neurons could exhibit off-response time fields, periods of reliably inhibited firing. Time cells were also observed in the cued T-maze, but they were less prevalent and they did not differentiate left and right trials as well as in the blocked alternation task, suggesting that RSC time cells are sensitive to the memory demands of the task. These results suggest that temporal coding is a prominent feature of RSC firing patterns, consistent with an RSC role in episodic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David M. Smith
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
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15
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Wang JH, Wu C, Lian YN, Cao XW, Wang ZY, Dong JJ, Wu Q, Liu L, Sun L, Chen W, Chen WJ, Zhang Z, Zhuo M, Li XY. Single-cell RNA sequencing uncovers the cell type-dependent transcriptomic changes in the retrosplenial cortex after peripheral nerve injury. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113551. [PMID: 38048224 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a vital area for storing remote memory and has recently been found to undergo broad changes after peripheral nerve injury. However, little is known about the role of RSC in pain regulation. Here, we examine the involvement of RSC in the pain of mice with nerve injury. Notably, reducing the activities of calcium-/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II-positive splenial neurons chemogenetically increases paw withdrawal threshold and extends thermal withdrawal latency in mice with nerve injury. The single-cell or single-nucleus RNA-sequencing results predict enhanced excitatory synaptic transmissions in RSC induced by nerve injury. Local infusion of 1-naphthyl acetyl spermine into RSC to decrease the excitatory synaptic transmissions relieves pain and induces conditioned place preference. Our data indicate that RSC is critical for regulating physiological and neuropathic pain. The cell type-dependent transcriptomic information would help understand the molecular basis of neuropathic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Hua Wang
- Department of Psychiatry of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, Zhejiang 322000, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain, Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Cheng Wu
- Department of Psychiatry of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, Zhejiang 322000, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain, Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China; Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Haining, Zhejiang 314400, China; Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JU, UK
| | - Yan-Na Lian
- Department of Psychiatry of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, Zhejiang 322000, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain, Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Xiao-Wen Cao
- Department of Psychiatry of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, Zhejiang 322000, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain, Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Zi-Yue Wang
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain, Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Jia-Jun Dong
- Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Haining, Zhejiang 314400, China
| | - Qin Wu
- Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Haining, Zhejiang 314400, China
| | - Li Liu
- Core Facilities of the School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Li Sun
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain, Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310016, China
| | - Wen-Juan Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310016, China
| | - Zhi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functions and Diseases, School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China
| | - Min Zhuo
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Xiang-Yao Li
- Department of Psychiatry of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, Zhejiang 322000, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain, Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China; Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Haining, Zhejiang 314400, China; Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JU, UK.
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16
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Simmons CM, Moseley SC, Ogg JD, Zhou X, Johnson M, Wu W, Clark BJ, Wilber AA. A thalamo-parietal cortex circuit is critical for place-action coordination. Hippocampus 2023; 33:1252-1266. [PMID: 37811797 PMCID: PMC10872801 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23578] [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: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
The anterior and lateral thalamus (ALT) contains head direction cells that signal the directional orientation of an individual within the environment. ALT has direct and indirect connections with the parietal cortex (PC), an area hypothesized to play a role in coordinating viewer-dependent and viewer-independent spatial reference frames. This coordination between reference frames would allow an individual to translate movements toward a desired location from memory. Thus, ALT-PC functional connectivity would be critical for moving toward remembered allocentric locations. This hypothesis was tested in rats with a place-action task that requires associating an appropriate action (left or right turn) with a spatial location. There are four arms, each offset by 90°, positioned around a central starting point. A trial begins in the central starting point. After exiting a pseudorandomly selected arm, the rat had to displace the correct object covering one of two (left versus right) feeding stations to receive a reward. For a pair of arms facing opposite directions, the reward was located on the left, and for the other pair, the reward was located on the right. Thus, each reward location had a different combination of allocentric location and egocentric action. Removal of an object was scored as correct or incorrect. Trials in which the rat did not displace any objects were scored as "no selection" trials. After an object was removed, the rat returned to the center starting position and the maze was reset for the next trial. To investigate the role of the ALT-PC network, muscimol inactivation infusions targeted bilateral PC, bilateral ALT, or the ALT-PC network. Muscimol sessions were counterbalanced and compared to saline sessions within the same animal. All inactivations resulted in decreased accuracy, but only bilateral PC inactivations resulted in increased non selecting, increased errors, and longer latency responses on the remaining trials. Thus, the ALT-PC circuit is critical for linking an action with a spatial location for successful navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine M Simmons
- Department of Psychology, Program of Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Shawn C Moseley
- Department of Psychology, Program of Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Jordan D Ogg
- Department of Psychology, Program of Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Xinyu Zhou
- Department of Statistics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Madeline Johnson
- Department of Psychology, Program of Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Wei Wu
- Department of Statistics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Benjamin J Clark
- Department of Psychology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Aaron A Wilber
- Department of Psychology, Program of Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
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17
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Lian Y, Williams S, Alexander AS, Hasselmo ME, Burkitt AN. Learning the Vector Coding of Egocentric Boundary Cells from Visual Data. J Neurosci 2023; 43:5180-5190. [PMID: 37286350 PMCID: PMC10342228 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1071-22.2023] [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: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of spatial maps to navigate through the world requires a complex ongoing transformation of egocentric views of the environment into position within the allocentric map. Recent research has discovered neurons in retrosplenial cortex and other structures that could mediate the transformation from egocentric views to allocentric views. These egocentric boundary cells respond to the egocentric direction and distance of barriers relative to an animal's point of view. This egocentric coding based on the visual features of barriers would seem to require complex dynamics of cortical interactions. However, computational models presented here show that egocentric boundary cells can be generated with a remarkably simple synaptic learning rule that forms a sparse representation of visual input as an animal explores the environment. Simulation of this simple sparse synaptic modification generates a population of egocentric boundary cells with distributions of direction and distance coding that strikingly resemble those observed within the retrosplenial cortex. Furthermore, some egocentric boundary cells learnt by the model can still function in new environments without retraining. This provides a framework for understanding the properties of neuronal populations in the retrosplenial cortex that may be essential for interfacing egocentric sensory information with allocentric spatial maps of the world formed by neurons in downstream areas, including the grid cells in entorhinal cortex and place cells in the hippocampus.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The computational model presented here demonstrates that the recently discovered egocentric boundary cells in retrosplenial cortex can be generated with a remarkably simple synaptic learning rule that forms a sparse representation of visual input as an animal explores the environment. Additionally, our model generates a population of egocentric boundary cells with distributions of direction and distance coding that strikingly resemble those observed within the retrosplenial cortex. This transformation between sensory input and egocentric representation in the navigational system could have implications for the way in which egocentric and allocentric representations interface in other brain areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanbo Lian
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Simon Williams
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Andrew S Alexander
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
| | - Michael E Hasselmo
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
| | - Anthony N Burkitt
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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18
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Kozhevnikov M, Puri J. Different Types of Survey-Based Environmental Representations: Egocentric vs. Allocentric Cognitive Maps. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13050834. [PMID: 37239306 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13050834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The goal of the current study was to show the existence of distinct types of survey-based environmental representations, egocentric and allocentric, and provide experimental evidence that they are formed by different types of navigational strategies, path integration and map-based navigation, respectively. After traversing an unfamiliar route, participants were either disoriented and asked to point to non-visible landmarks encountered on the route (Experiment 1) or presented with a secondary spatial working memory task while determining the spatial locations of objects on the route (Experiment 2). The results demonstrate a double dissociation between the navigational strategies underlying the formation of allocentric and egocentric survey-based representation. Specifically, only the individuals who generated egocentric survey-based representations of the route were affected by disorientation, suggesting they relied primarily on a path integration strategy combined with landmark/scene processing at each route segment. In contrast, only allocentric-survey mappers were affected by the secondary spatial working memory task, suggesting their use of map-based navigation. This research is the first to show that path integration, in conjunction with egocentric landmark processing, is a distinct standalone navigational strategy underpinning the formation of a unique type of environmental representation-the egocentric survey-based representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Kozhevnikov
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, 9 Arts Link, Singapore 117572, Singapore
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School Department of Radiology, 149 Thirteenth Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Jyotika Puri
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, 9 Arts Link, Singapore 117572, Singapore
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19
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Alexander AS, Robinson JC, Stern CE, Hasselmo ME. Gated transformations from egocentric to allocentric reference frames involving retrosplenial cortex, entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus. Hippocampus 2023; 33:465-487. [PMID: 36861201 PMCID: PMC10403145 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
This paper reviews the recent experimental finding that neurons in behaving rodents show egocentric coding of the environment in a number of structures associated with the hippocampus. Many animals generating behavior on the basis of sensory input must deal with the transformation of coordinates from the egocentric position of sensory input relative to the animal, into an allocentric framework concerning the position of multiple goals and objects relative to each other in the environment. Neurons in retrosplenial cortex show egocentric coding of the position of boundaries in relation to an animal. These neuronal responses are discussed in relation to existing models of the transformation from egocentric to allocentric coordinates using gain fields and a new model proposing transformations of phase coding that differ from current models. The same type of transformations could allow hierarchical representations of complex scenes. The responses in rodents are also discussed in comparison to work on coordinate transformations in humans and non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew S Alexander
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jennifer C Robinson
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Chantal E Stern
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael E Hasselmo
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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20
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Navratilova Z, Banerjee D, Muqolli F, Zhang J, Gandhi S, McNaughton B. Pattern Completion and Rate Remapping in Retrosplenial Cortex. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2736384. [PMID: 37090599 PMCID: PMC10120768 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2736384/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
Principles governing the encoding, storage, and updating of memories in cortical networks are poorly understood. In retrosplenial cortex (RSC), cells respond to the animal's position as it navigates a real or virtual (VR) linear track. Position correlated cells (PCCs) in RSC require an intact hippocampus to form. To examine whether PCCs undergo pattern completion and remapping like hippocampal cells, neuronal activity in RSC or CA1 was recorded using two-photon calcium imaging in mice running on VR tracks. RSC and CA1 PCC activity underwent global and rate remapping depending on the degree of change to familiar environments. The formation of position correlated fields in both regions required stability across laps; however, once formed, PCCs became robust to object destabilization, indicating pattern completion of the previously formed memory. Thus, memory and remapping properties were conserved between RSC and CA1, suggesting that these functional properties are transmitted to cortex to support memory functions.
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21
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Kira S, Safaai H, Morcos AS, Panzeri S, Harvey CD. A distributed and efficient population code of mixed selectivity neurons for flexible navigation decisions. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2121. [PMID: 37055431 PMCID: PMC10102117 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37804-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Decision-making requires flexibility to rapidly switch one's actions in response to sensory stimuli depending on information stored in memory. We identified cortical areas and neural activity patterns underlying this flexibility during virtual navigation, where mice switched navigation toward or away from a visual cue depending on its match to a remembered cue. Optogenetics screening identified V1, posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and retrosplenial cortex (RSC) as necessary for accurate decisions. Calcium imaging revealed neurons that can mediate rapid navigation switches by encoding a mixture of a current and remembered visual cue. These mixed selectivity neurons emerged through task learning and predicted the mouse's choices by forming efficient population codes before correct, but not incorrect, choices. They were distributed across posterior cortex, even V1, and were densest in RSC and sparsest in PPC. We propose flexibility in navigation decisions arises from neurons that mix visual and memory information within a visual-parietal-retrosplenial network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinichiro Kira
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Houman Safaai
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Neural Computation Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Ari S Morcos
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stefano Panzeri
- Neural Computation Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
- Department of Excellence for Neural Information Processing, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany
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22
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The cerebellum promotes sequential foraging strategies and contributes to the directional modulation of hippocampal place cells. iScience 2023; 26:106200. [PMID: 36922992 PMCID: PMC10009096 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The cerebellum contributes to goal-directed navigation abilities and place coding in the hippocampus. Here we investigated its contribution to foraging strategies. We recorded hippocampal neurons in mice with impaired PKC-dependent cerebellar functions (L7-PKCI) and in their littermate controls while they performed a task where they were rewarded for visiting a subset of hidden locations. We found that L7-PKCI and control mice developed different foraging strategies: while control mice repeated spatial sequences to maximize their rewards, L7-PKCI mice persisted to use a random foraging strategy. Sequential foraging was associated with more place cells exhibiting theta-phase precession and theta rate modulation. Recording in the dark showed that PKC-dependent cerebellar functions controlled how self-motion cues contribute to the selectivity of place cells to both position and direction. Thus, the cerebellum contributes to the development of optimal sequential paths during foraging, possibly by controlling how self-motion and theta signals contribute to place cell coding.
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23
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Influence of claustrum on cortex varies by area, layer, and cell type. Neuron 2023; 111:275-290.e5. [PMID: 36368317 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The claustrum is a small subcortical structure with widespread connections to disparate regions of the cortex. However, the impact of the claustrum on cortical activity is not fully understood, particularly beyond frontal areas. Here, using optogenetics and multi-regional Neuropixels recordings from over 15,000 cortical neurons in awake mice, we demonstrate that the effect of claustrum input to the cortex differs depending on brain area, layer, and cell type. Brief claustrum stimulation, producing approximately 1 spike per claustrum neuron, affects many fast spiking (FS; putative inhibitory) but relatively fewer regular-spiking (RS; putative excitatory) cortical neurons and leads to a modest decrease in population activity in frontal cortical areas. Prolonged claustrum stimulation affects many more cortical neurons and can increase or decrease spiking activity. More excitation occurs in posterior regions and superficial layers, while inhibition predominates in frontal regions and deeper layers. These findings suggest that claustro-cortical circuits are organized into functional modules.
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24
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Alexander AS, Place R, Starrett MJ, Chrastil ER, Nitz DA. Rethinking retrosplenial cortex: Perspectives and predictions. Neuron 2023; 111:150-175. [PMID: 36460006 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The last decade has produced exciting new ideas about retrosplenial cortex (RSC) and its role in integrating diverse inputs. Here, we review the diversity in forms of spatial and directional tuning of RSC activity, temporal organization of RSC activity, and features of RSC interconnectivity with other brain structures. We find that RSC anatomy and dynamics are more consistent with roles in multiple sensorimotor and cognitive processes than with any isolated function. However, two more generalized categories of function may best characterize roles for RSC in complex cognitive processes: (1) shifting and relating perspectives for spatial cognition and (2) prediction and error correction for current sensory states with internal representations of the environment. Both functions likely take advantage of RSC's capacity to encode conjunctions among sensory, motor, and spatial mapping information streams. Together, these functions provide the scaffold for intelligent actions, such as navigation, perspective taking, interaction with others, and error detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew S Alexander
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Ryan Place
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Michael J Starrett
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Elizabeth R Chrastil
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
| | - Douglas A Nitz
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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25
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Simonsen ØW, Czajkowski R, Witter MP. Retrosplenial and subicular inputs converge on superficially projecting layer V neurons of medial entorhinal cortex. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:2821-2837. [PMID: 36229654 PMCID: PMC9618507 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02578-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) plays a pivotal role in spatial processing together with hippocampal formation. The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is also implicated in this process, and it is thus relevant to understand how these structures interact. This requires precise knowledge of their connectivity. Projections from neurons in RSC synapse onto principal neurons in layer V of MEC and some of these neurons send axons into superficial layers of MEC. Layer V of MEC is also the main target for hippocampal efferents from the subiculum and CA1 field. The aim of this study was to assess whether the population of cells targeted by RSC projections also receives input from the hippocampal formation and to compare the distribution of synaptic contacts on target dendrites. We labeled the cells in layer V of MEC by injecting a retrograde tracer into superficial layers. At the same time, we labeled RSC and subicular projections with different anterograde tracers. 3D-reconstruction of the labeled cells and axons revealed likely synaptic contacts between presynaptic boutons of both origins and postsynaptic MEC layer V basal dendrites. Moreover, these contacts overlapped on the same dendritic segments without targeting specific domains. Our results support the notion that MEC layer V neurons that project to the superficial layers receive convergent input from both RSC and subiculum. These data thus suggest that convergent subicular and RSC information contributes to the signal that neurons in superficial layers of EC send to the hippocampal formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Øyvind Wilsgård Simonsen
- Centre for Neural Computation, Egil and Pauline Braathen and Fred Kavli Centre for Cortical Microcircuits, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Menno P Witter
- Centre for Neural Computation, Egil and Pauline Braathen and Fred Kavli Centre for Cortical Microcircuits, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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26
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Yu Y, Setogawa T, Matsumoto J, Nishimaru H, Nishijo H. Neural basis of topographical disorientation in the primate posterior cingulate gyrus based on a labeled graph. AIMS Neurosci 2022; 9:373-394. [PMID: 36329903 PMCID: PMC9581735 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2022021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with lesions in the posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG), including the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), cannot navigate in familiar environments, nor draw routes on a 2D map of the familiar environments. This suggests that the topographical knowledge of the environments (i.e., cognitive map) to find the right route to a goal is represented in the PCG, and the patients lack such knowledge. However, theoretical backgrounds in neuronal levels for these symptoms in primates are unclear. Recent behavioral studies suggest that human spatial knowledge is constructed based on a labeled graph that consists of topological connections (edges) between places (nodes), where local metric information, such as distances between nodes (edge weights) and angles between edges (node labels), are incorporated. We hypothesize that the population neural activity in the PCG may represent such knowledge based on a labeled graph to encode routes in both 3D environments and 2D maps. Since no previous data are available to test the hypothesis, we recorded PCG neuronal activity from a monkey during performance of virtual navigation and map drawing-like tasks. The results indicated that most PCG neurons responded differentially to spatial parameters of the environments, including the place, head direction, and reward delivery at specific reward areas. The labeled graph-based analyses of the data suggest that the population activity of the PCG neurons represents the distance traveled, locations, movement direction, and navigation routes in the 3D and 2D virtual environments. These results support the hypothesis and provide a neuronal basis for the labeled graph-based representation of a familiar environment, consistent with PCG functions inferred from the human clinicopathological studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yu
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Setogawa
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
- Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Jumpei Matsumoto
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
- Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Nishimaru
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
- Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Hisao Nishijo
- System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
- Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
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27
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Tseng SY, Chettih SN, Arlt C, Barroso-Luque R, Harvey CD. Shared and specialized coding across posterior cortical areas for dynamic navigation decisions. Neuron 2022; 110:2484-2502.e16. [PMID: 35679861 PMCID: PMC9357051 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Animals adaptively integrate sensation, planning, and action to navigate toward goal locations in ever-changing environments, but the functional organization of cortex supporting these processes remains unclear. We characterized encoding in approximately 90,000 neurons across the mouse posterior cortex during a virtual navigation task with rule switching. The encoding of task and behavioral variables was highly distributed across cortical areas but differed in magnitude, resulting in three spatial gradients for visual cue, spatial position plus dynamics of choice formation, and locomotion, with peaks respectively in visual, retrosplenial, and parietal cortices. Surprisingly, the conjunctive encoding of these variables in single neurons was similar throughout the posterior cortex, creating high-dimensional representations in all areas instead of revealing computations specialized for each area. We propose that, for guiding navigation decisions, the posterior cortex operates in parallel rather than hierarchically, and collectively generates a state representation of the behavior and environment, with each area specialized in handling distinct information modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shih-Yi Tseng
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Selmaan N Chettih
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Charlotte Arlt
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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28
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Ghosh M, Yang FC, Rice SP, Hetrick V, Gonzalez AL, Siu D, Brennan EKW, John TT, Ahrens AM, Ahmed OJ. Running speed and REM sleep control two distinct modes of rapid interhemispheric communication. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111028. [PMID: 35793619 PMCID: PMC9291430 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhythmic gamma-band communication within and across cortical hemispheres is critical for optimal perception, navigation, and memory. Here, using multisite recordings in both rats and mice, we show that even faster ~140 Hz rhythms are robustly anti-phase across cortical hemispheres, visually resembling splines, the interlocking teeth on mechanical gears. Splines are strongest in superficial granular retrosplenial cortex, a region important for spatial navigation and memory. Spline-frequency interhemispheric communication becomes more coherent and more precisely anti-phase at faster running speeds. Anti-phase splines also demarcate high-activity frames during REM sleep. While splines and associated neuronal spiking are anti-phase across retrosplenial hemispheres during navigation and REM sleep, gamma-rhythmic interhemispheric communication is precisely in-phase. Gamma and splines occur at distinct points of a theta cycle and thus highlight the ability of interhemispheric cortical communication to rapidly switch between in-phase (gamma) and anti-phase (spline) modes within individual theta cycles during both navigation and REM sleep. Gamma-rhythmic communication within and across cortical hemispheres is critical for optimal perception, navigation, and memory. Here, Ghosh et al. identify even faster ~140 Hz rhythms, named splines, that reflect anti-phase neuronal synchrony across hemispheres. The balance of anti-phase spline and in-phase gamma communication is dynamically controlled by behavior and sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megha Ghosh
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Fang-Chi Yang
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Sharena P Rice
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Vaughn Hetrick
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Alcides Lorenzo Gonzalez
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Danny Siu
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Ellen K W Brennan
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Tibin T John
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Allison M Ahrens
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Omar J Ahmed
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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29
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Strategy updating mediated by specific retrosplenial-parafascicular-basal ganglia networks. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3477-3492.e5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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30
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Stacho M, Manahan-Vaughan D. Mechanistic flexibility of the retrosplenial cortex enables its contribution to spatial cognition. Trends Neurosci 2022; 45:284-296. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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31
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Smith DM, Yang YY, Subramanian DL, Miller AMP, Bulkin DA, Law LM. The limbic memory circuit and the neural basis of contextual memory. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2022; 187:107557. [PMID: 34808337 PMCID: PMC8755583 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex and anterior thalamus are key components of a neural circuit known to be involved in a variety of memory functions, including spatial, contextual and episodic memory. In this review, we focus on the role of this circuit in contextual memory processes. The background environment, or context, is a powerful cue for memory retrieval, and neural representations of the context provide a mechanism for efficiently retrieving relevant memories while avoiding interference from memories that belong to other contexts. Data from experimental lesions and neural manipulation techniques indicate that each of these regions is critical for contextual memory. Neurophysiological evidence from the hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex suggest that contextual information is represented within this circuit by population-level neural firing patterns that reliably differentiate each context a subject encounters. These findings indicate that encoding contextual information to support context-dependent memory retrieval is a key function of this circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Smith
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States.
| | - Yan Yu Yang
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | | | - Adam M P Miller
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - David A Bulkin
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - L Matthew Law
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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32
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Balcerek E, Włodkowska U, Czajkowski R. Retrosplenial cortex in spatial memory: focus on immediate early genes mapping. Mol Brain 2021; 14:172. [PMID: 34863215 PMCID: PMC8642902 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-021-00880-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to form, retrieve and update autobiographical memories is one of the most fascinating features of human behavior. Spatial memory, the ability to remember the layout of the external environment and to navigate within its boundaries, is closely related to the autobiographical memory domain. It is served by an overlapping brain circuit, centered around the hippocampus (HPC) where the cognitive map index is stored. Apart from the hippocampus, several cortical structures participate in this process. Their relative contribution is a subject of intense research in both humans and animal models. One of the most widely studied regions is the retrosplenial cortex (RSC), an area in the parietal lobe densely interconnected with the hippocampal formation. Several methodological approaches have been established over decades in order to investigate the cortical aspects of memory. One of the most successful techniques is based on the analysis of brain expression patterns of the immediate early genes (IEGs). The common feature of this diverse group of genes is fast upregulation of their mRNA translation upon physiologically relevant stimulus. In the central nervous system they are rapidly triggered by neuronal activity and plasticity during learning. There is a widely accepted consensus that their expression level corresponds to the engagement of individual neurons in the formation of memory trace. Imaging of the IEGs might therefore provide a picture of an emerging memory engram. In this review we present the overview of IEG mapping studies of retrosplenial cortex in rodent models. We begin with classical techniques, immunohistochemical detection of protein and fluorescent in situ hybridization of mRNA. We then proceed to advanced methods where fluorescent genetically encoded IEG reporters are chronically followed in vivo during memory formation. We end with a combination of genetic IEG labelling and optogenetic approach, where the activity of the entire engram is manipulated. We finally present a hypothesis that attempts to unify our current state of knowledge about the function of RSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edyta Balcerek
- Laboratory of Spatial Memory, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteura 3, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Urszula Włodkowska
- Laboratory of Spatial Memory, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteura 3, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Rafał Czajkowski
- Laboratory of Spatial Memory, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteura 3, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland.
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33
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Schmitt LM, Erb J, Tune S, Rysop AU, Hartwigsen G, Obleser J. Predicting speech from a cortical hierarchy of event-based time scales. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021. [PMID: 34860554 DOI: 10.1101/2020.12.19.423616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
How do predictions in the brain incorporate the temporal unfolding of context in our natural environment? We here provide evidence for a neural coding scheme that sparsely updates contextual representations at the boundary of events. This yields a hierarchical, multilayered organization of predictive language comprehension. Training artificial neural networks to predict the next word in a story at five stacked time scales and then using model-based functional magnetic resonance imaging, we observe an event-based “surprisal hierarchy” evolving along a temporoparietal pathway. Along this hierarchy, surprisal at any given time scale gated bottom-up and top-down connectivity to neighboring time scales. In contrast, surprisal derived from continuously updated context influenced temporoparietal activity only at short time scales. Representing context in the form of increasingly coarse events constitutes a network architecture for making predictions that is both computationally efficient and contextually diverse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea-Maria Schmitt
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Julia Erb
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Sarah Tune
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Anna U Rysop
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1 A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1 A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
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34
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Schmitt LM, Erb J, Tune S, Rysop AU, Hartwigsen G, Obleser J. Predicting speech from a cortical hierarchy of event-based time scales. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabi6070. [PMID: 34860554 PMCID: PMC8641937 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi6070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
How do predictions in the brain incorporate the temporal unfolding of context in our natural environment? We here provide evidence for a neural coding scheme that sparsely updates contextual representations at the boundary of events. This yields a hierarchical, multilayered organization of predictive language comprehension. Training artificial neural networks to predict the next word in a story at five stacked time scales and then using model-based functional magnetic resonance imaging, we observe an event-based “surprisal hierarchy” evolving along a temporoparietal pathway. Along this hierarchy, surprisal at any given time scale gated bottom-up and top-down connectivity to neighboring time scales. In contrast, surprisal derived from continuously updated context influenced temporoparietal activity only at short time scales. Representing context in the form of increasingly coarse events constitutes a network architecture for making predictions that is both computationally efficient and contextually diverse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea-Maria Schmitt
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Julia Erb
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Sarah Tune
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Anna U. Rysop
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1 A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1 A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
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35
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Carstensen LC, Alexander AS, Chapman GW, Lee AJ, Hasselmo ME. Neural responses in retrosplenial cortex associated with environmental alterations. iScience 2021; 24:103377. [PMID: 34825142 PMCID: PMC8605176 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is an area interconnected with regions of the brain that display spatial correlates. Neurons in connected regions may encode an animal’s position in the environment and location or proximity to objects or boundaries. RSC has also been shown to be important for spatial memory, such as tracking distance from and between landmarks, contextual information, and orientation within an environment. For these reasons, it is important to determine how neurons in RSC represent cues such as objects or boundaries and their relationship to the environment. In the current work, we performed electrophysiological recordings in RSC, whereas rats foraged in arenas that could contain an object or in which the environment was altered. We report RSC neurons display changes in mean firing rate responding to alterations of the environment. These alterations include the arena rotating, changing size or shape, or an object being introduced into the arena. Insertion of an object induces a change in mean firing rate in retrosplenial neurons Cells that change mean firing rate (MFR) are not driven by speed modulation Population representation changes over time, but not in cells with MFR changes Manipulation of environmental features induces a change in mean firing rate
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas C Carstensen
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.,Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Andrew S Alexander
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - G William Chapman
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Aubrey J Lee
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Michael E Hasselmo
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.,Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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36
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Keshavarzi S, Bracey EF, Faville RA, Campagner D, Tyson AL, Lenzi SC, Branco T, Margrie TW. Multisensory coding of angular head velocity in the retrosplenial cortex. Neuron 2021; 110:532-543.e9. [PMID: 34788632 PMCID: PMC8823706 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
To successfully navigate the environment, animals depend on their ability to continuously track their heading direction and speed. Neurons that encode angular head velocity (AHV) are fundamental to this process, yet the contribution of various motion signals to AHV coding in the cortex remains elusive. By performing chronic single-unit recordings in the retrosplenial cortex (RSP) of the mouse and tracking the activity of individual AHV cells between freely moving and head-restrained conditions, we find that vestibular inputs dominate AHV signaling. Moreover, the addition of visual inputs onto these neurons increases the gain and signal-to-noise ratio of their tuning during active exploration. Psychophysical experiments and neural decoding further reveal that vestibular-visual integration increases the perceptual accuracy of angular self-motion and the fidelity of its representation by RSP ensembles. We conclude that while cortical AHV coding requires vestibular input, where possible, it also uses vision to optimize heading estimation during navigation. Angular head velocity (AHV) coding is widespread in the retrosplenial cortex (RSP) AHV cells maintain their tuning during passive motion and require vestibular input The perception of angular self-motion is improved when visual cues are present AHV coding is similarly improved when both vestibular and visual stimuli are used
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Affiliation(s)
- Sepiedeh Keshavarzi
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom.
| | - Edward F Bracey
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
| | - Richard A Faville
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
| | - Dario Campagner
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom; Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
| | - Adam L Tyson
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen C Lenzi
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
| | - Tiago Branco
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
| | - Troy W Margrie
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London (UCL), 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom.
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37
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Plasticity between visual input pathways and the head direction system. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 71:60-68. [PMID: 34619578 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Animals can maintain a stable sense of direction even when they navigate in novel environments, but how the animal's brain interprets and encodes unfamiliar sensory information in its navigation system to maintain a stable sense of direction is a mystery. Recent studies have suggested that distinct brain structures of mammals and insects have evolved to solve this common problem with strategies that share computational principles; specifically, a network structure called a ring attractor maintains the sense of direction. Initially, in a novel environment, the animal's sense of direction relies on self-motion cues. Over time, the mapping from visual inputs to head direction cells, responsible for the sense of direction, is established via experience-dependent plasticity. Yet the mechanisms that facilitate acquiring a world-centered sense of direction, how many environments can be stored in memory, and what visual features are selected, all remain unknown. Thanks to recent advances in large scale physiological recording, genetic tools, and theory, these mechanisms may soon be revealed.
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38
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Campbell MG, Attinger A, Ocko SA, Ganguli S, Giocomo LM. Distance-tuned neurons drive specialized path integration calculations in medial entorhinal cortex. Cell Rep 2021; 36:109669. [PMID: 34496249 PMCID: PMC8437084 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
During navigation, animals estimate their position using path integration and landmarks, engaging many brain areas. Whether these areas follow specialized or universal cue integration principles remains incompletely understood. We combine electrophysiology with virtual reality to quantify cue integration across thousands of neurons in three navigation-relevant areas: primary visual cortex (V1), retrosplenial cortex (RSC), and medial entorhinal cortex (MEC). Compared with V1 and RSC, path integration influences position estimates more in MEC, and conflicts between path integration and landmarks trigger remapping more readily. Whereas MEC codes position prospectively, V1 codes position retrospectively, and RSC is intermediate between the two. Lowered visual contrast increases the influence of path integration on position estimates only in MEC. These properties are most pronounced in a population of MEC neurons, overlapping with grid cells, tuned to distance run in darkness. These results demonstrate the specialized role that path integration plays in MEC compared with other navigation-relevant cortical areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malcolm G Campbell
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Alexander Attinger
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Samuel A Ocko
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Surya Ganguli
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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39
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Chinzorig C, Nishimaru H, Matsumoto J, Takamura Y, Berthoz A, Ono T, Nishijo H. Rat Retrosplenial Cortical Involvement in Wayfinding Using Visual and Locomotor Cues. Cereb Cortex 2021; 30:1985-2004. [PMID: 31667498 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) has been implicated in wayfinding using different sensory cues. However, the neural mechanisms of how the RSC constructs spatial representations to code an appropriate route under different sensory cues are unknown. In this study, rat RSC neurons were recorded while rats ran on a treadmill affixed to a motion stage that was displaced along a figure-8-shaped track. The activity of some RSC neurons increased during specific directional displacements, while the activity of other neurons correlated with the running speed on the treadmill regardless of the displacement directions. Elimination of visual cues by turning off the room lights and/or locomotor cues by turning off the treadmill decreased the activity of both groups of neurons. The ensemble activity of the former group of neurons discriminated displacements along the common central path of different routes in the track, even when visual or locomotor cues were eliminated where different spatial representations must be created based on different sensory cues. The present results provide neurophysiological evidence of an RSC involvement in wayfinding under different spatial representations with different sensory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Choijiljav Chinzorig
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Nishimaru
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Jumpei Matsumoto
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Yusaku Takamura
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Alain Berthoz
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France, Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Taketoshi Ono
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Hisao Nishijo
- System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
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40
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Franco LM, Goard MJ. A distributed circuit for associating environmental context with motor choice in retrosplenial cortex. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabf9815. [PMID: 34433557 PMCID: PMC8386923 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf9815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
During navigation, animals often use recognition of familiar environmental contexts to guide motor action selection. The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) receives inputs from both visual cortex and subcortical regions required for spatial memory and projects to motor planning regions. However, it is not known whether RSC is important for associating familiar environmental contexts with specific motor actions. We test this possibility by developing a task in which motor trajectories are chosen based on the context. We find that mice exhibit differential predecision activity in RSC and that optogenetic suppression of RSC activity impairs task performance. Individual RSC neurons encode a range of task variables, often multiplexed with distinct temporal profiles. However, the responses are spatiotemporally organized, with task variables represented along a posterior-to-anterior gradient along RSC during the behavioral performance, consistent with histological characterization. These results reveal an anatomically organized retrosplenial cortical circuit for associating environmental contexts with appropriate motor outputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis M Franco
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Michael J Goard
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
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41
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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.
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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
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42
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Brennan EKW, Jedrasiak-Cape I, Kailasa S, Rice SP, Sudhakar SK, Ahmed OJ. Thalamus and claustrum control parallel layer 1 circuits in retrosplenial cortex. eLife 2021; 10:e62207. [PMID: 34170817 PMCID: PMC8233040 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The granular retrosplenial cortex (RSG) is critical for both spatial and non-spatial behaviors, but the underlying neural codes remain poorly understood. Here, we use optogenetic circuit mapping in mice to reveal a double dissociation that allows parallel circuits in superficial RSG to process disparate inputs. The anterior thalamus and dorsal subiculum, sources of spatial information, strongly and selectively recruit small low-rheobase (LR) pyramidal cells in RSG. In contrast, neighboring regular-spiking (RS) cells are preferentially controlled by claustral and anterior cingulate inputs, sources of mostly non-spatial information. Precise sublaminar axonal and dendritic arborization within RSG layer 1, in particular, permits this parallel processing. Observed thalamocortical synaptic dynamics enable computational models of LR neurons to compute the speed of head rotation, despite receiving head direction inputs that do not explicitly encode speed. Thus, parallel input streams identify a distinct principal neuronal subtype ideally positioned to support spatial orientation computations in the RSG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen KW Brennan
- Department of Psychology, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
| | | | - Sameer Kailasa
- Department of Mathematics, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
| | - Sharena P Rice
- Department of Psychology, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
| | | | - Omar J Ahmed
- Department of Psychology, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
- Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
- Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
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43
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Li J, Zhang R, Liu S, Liang Q, Zheng S, He X, Huang R. Human spatial navigation: Neural representations of spatial scales and reference frames obtained from an ALE meta-analysis. Neuroimage 2021; 238:118264. [PMID: 34129948 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans use different spatial reference frames (allocentric or egocentric) to navigate successfully toward their destination in different spatial scale spaces (environmental or vista). However, it remains unclear how the brain represents different spatial scales and different spatial reference frames. Thus, we conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of 47 fMRI articles involving human spatial navigation. We found that both the environmental and vista spaces activated the parahippocampal place area (PPA), retrosplenial complex (RSC), and occipital place area in the right hemisphere. The environmental space showed stronger activation than the vista space in the occipital and frontal regions. No brain region exhibited stronger activation for the vista than the environmental space. The allocentric and egocentric reference frames activated the bilateral PPA and right RSC. The allocentric frame showed more stronger activations than the egocentric frame in the right culmen, left middle frontal gyrus, and precuneus. No brain region displayed stronger activation for the egocentric than the allocentric navigation. Our findings suggest that navigation in different spatial scale spaces can evoke specific and common brain regions, and that the brain regions representing spatial reference frames are not absolutely separated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhui Li
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510631, China
| | - Ruibin Zhang
- Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research), Guangzhou, China; Department of Psychiatry, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Siqi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510631, China
| | - Qunjun Liang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510631, China
| | - Senning Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510631, China
| | - Xianyou He
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510631, China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510631, China.
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44
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Long X, Zhang SJ. A novel somatosensory spatial navigation system outside the hippocampal formation. Cell Res 2021; 31:649-663. [PMID: 33462427 PMCID: PMC8169756 DOI: 10.1038/s41422-020-00448-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Spatially selective firing of place cells, grid cells, boundary vector/border cells and head direction cells constitutes the basic building blocks of a canonical spatial navigation system centered on the hippocampal-entorhinal complex. While head direction cells can be found throughout the brain, spatial tuning outside the hippocampal formation is often non-specific or conjunctive to other representations such as a reward. Although the precise mechanism of spatially selective firing activity is not understood, various studies show sensory inputs, particularly vision, heavily modulate spatial representation in the hippocampal-entorhinal circuit. To better understand the contribution of other sensory inputs in shaping spatial representation in the brain, we performed recording from the primary somatosensory cortex in foraging rats. To our surprise, we were able to detect the full complement of spatially selective firing patterns similar to that reported in the hippocampal-entorhinal network, namely, place cells, head direction cells, boundary vector/border cells, grid cells and conjunctive cells, in the somatosensory cortex. These newly identified somatosensory spatial cells form a spatial map outside the hippocampal formation and support the hypothesis that location information modulates body representation in the somatosensory cortex. Our findings provide transformative insights into our understanding of how spatial information is processed and integrated in the brain, as well as functional operations of the somatosensory cortex in the context of rehabilitation with brain-machine interfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyang Long
- grid.410570.70000 0004 1760 6682Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400037 China
| | - Sheng-Jia Zhang
- grid.410570.70000 0004 1760 6682Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400037 China
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45
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Gao M, Noguchi A, Ikegaya Y. The subiculum sensitizes retrosplenial cortex layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons. J Physiol 2021; 599:3151-3167. [PMID: 33878801 DOI: 10.1113/jp281152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS Neurons in the retrosplenial cortex (RSC), a cerebral region that connects synaptically with various brain regions, are known to increase neuronal activity in accordance with hippocampal sharp wave-ripples. Pyramidal cells in granular RSC (gRSC) layer 2/3, but not layer 5, exhibit slowly ramping depolarization and considerably delayed spikes in response to a step-pulse current injection. The latencies of delayed spikes in RSC layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons were shortened by a preceding current injection. This effect was mimicked by activation of axonal afferents from the subiculum, but not of neocortical afferents. The subiculum is likely to facilitate information processing and flow in the RSC. ABSTRACT The retrosplenial cortex (RSC), a cerebral region involved in diverse cognitive functions, is an anatomical hub that forms monosynaptic connections with various brain areas. Here, we report a unique form of short-term intrinsic plasticity in mouse granular RSC layer 2/3 pyramidal cells. These cells exhibited delayed spikes in response to somatic current injection, but the spike latencies were shortened by a preceding brief depolarization (priming). This priming-induced sensitization is distinct from desensitization, which is commonly observed in other cortical neurons. The facilitatory priming effect lasted for more than 3 s, providing a time window for increased sensitivity to RSC inputs. Based on in vitro and in vivo patch-clamp recordings following optogenetic stimulation of axonal fibres, we found that preactivation of subicular afferents replicated the facilitatory priming effect. The results suggest that subicular inputs to RSC layer 2/3 neurons may modulate subsequent information integration in the RSC layer 2/3 circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengxuan Gao
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Asako Noguchi
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Yuji Ikegaya
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.,Institute of AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.,Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita City, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
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46
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Genzel D, Yartsev MM. The fully automated bat (FAB) flight room: A human-free environment for studying navigation in flying bats and its initial application to the retrosplenial cortex. J Neurosci Methods 2021; 348:108970. [PMID: 33065152 PMCID: PMC8857751 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bats can offer important insight into the neural computations underlying complex forms of navigation. Up to now, this had been done with the confound of the human experimenter being present in the same environment the bat was navigating in. NEW METHOD We, therefore, developed a novel behavioral setup, the fully automated bat (FAB) flight room, to obtain a detailed and quantitative understanding of bat navigation flight behavior while studying its relevant neural circuits, but importantly without human intervention. As a demonstration of the FAB flight room utility we trained bats on a four-target, visually-guided, foraging task and recorded neural activity from the retrosplenial cortex (RSC). RESULTS We find that bats can be efficiently trained and engaged in complex, multi-target, visuospatial behavior in the FAB flight room. Wireless neural recordings from the bat RSC during the task confirm the multiplexed characteristics of single RSC neurons encoding spatial positional information, target selection, reward obtainment and the intensity of visual cues used to guide navigation. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS In contrast to the methods introduced in previous studies, we now can investigate spatial navigation in bats without potential experimental biases that can be easily introduced by active physical involvement and presence of experimenters in the room. CONCLUSIONS Combined, we describe a novel experimental approach for studying spatial navigation in freely flying bats and provide support for the involvement of bat RSC in aerial visuospatial foraging behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria Genzel
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, United States; Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, United States
| | - Michael M Yartsev
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, United States; Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, United States.
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47
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Place R, Nitz DA. Cognitive Maps: Distortions of the Hippocampal Space Map Define Neighborhoods. Curr Biol 2021; 30:R340-R342. [PMID: 32315629 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
In place of continuous overhead satellite views of an environment, the brain often relies on first-person experiences to estimate spatial relationships between locations. Using new methods, a recent study has found the spatial metric observed in hippocampal activity adapts to encode local environmental terrain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Place
- Department of Cognitive Science, MC 0515, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Douglas A Nitz
- Department of Cognitive Science, MC 0515, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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48
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Yoshida M, Chinzorig C, Matsumoto J, Nishimaru H, Ono T, Yamazaki M, Nishijo H. Configural Cues Associated with Reward Elicit Theta Oscillations of Rat Retrosplenial Cortical Neurons Phase-Locked to LFP Theta Cycles. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:2729-2741. [PMID: 33415336 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous behavioral studies implicated the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) in stimulus-stimulus associations, and also in the retrieval of remote associative memory based on EEG theta oscillations. However, neural mechanisms involved in the retrieval of stored information of such associations and memory in the RSC remain unclear. To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying these processes, RSC neurons and local field potentials (LFPs) were simultaneously recorded from well-trained rats performing a cue-reward association task. In the task, simultaneous presentation of two multimodal conditioned stimuli (configural CSs) predicted a reward outcome opposite to that associated with the individual presentation of each elemental CS. Here, we show neurophysiological evidence that the RSC is involved in stimulus-stimulus association where configural CSs are discriminated from each elementary CS that is a constituent of the configural CSs, and that memory retrieval of rewarding CSs is associated with theta oscillation of RSC neurons during CS presentation, which is phase-locked to LFP theta cycles. The results suggest that cue (elementary and configural CSs)-reinforcement associations are stored in the RSC neural circuits, and are retrieved in synchronization with LFP theta rhythm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masashi Yoshida
- Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Choijiljav Chinzorig
- Department of System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.,Department of Physiology, School of Bio-medicine, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Ulaanbaatar 14210, Mongolia
| | - Jumpei Matsumoto
- Department of System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Nishimaru
- Department of System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.,Graduate School of Innovative Life Science, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Taketoshi Ono
- Department of System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Mitsuaki Yamazaki
- Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Hisao Nishijo
- Department of System Emotional Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.,Graduate School of Innovative Life Science, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science (RCIBS), University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
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49
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Peer M, Brunec IK, Newcombe NS, Epstein RA. Structuring Knowledge with Cognitive Maps and Cognitive Graphs. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:37-54. [PMID: 33248898 PMCID: PMC7746605 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Humans and animals use mental representations of the spatial structure of the world to navigate. The classical view is that these representations take the form of Euclidean cognitive maps, but alternative theories suggest that they are cognitive graphs consisting of locations connected by paths. We review evidence suggesting that both map-like and graph-like representations exist in the mind/brain that rely on partially overlapping neural systems. Maps and graphs can operate simultaneously or separately, and they may be applied to both spatial and nonspatial knowledge. By providing structural frameworks for complex information, cognitive maps and cognitive graphs may provide fundamental organizing schemata that allow us to navigate in physical, social, and conceptual spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Peer
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Iva K Brunec
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Nora S Newcombe
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Russell A Epstein
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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50
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Miller AMP, Serrichio AC, Smith DM. Dual-Factor Representation of the Environmental Context in the Retrosplenial Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2020; 31:2720-2728. [PMID: 33386396 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is thought to be involved in a variety of spatial and contextual memory processes. However, we do not know how contextual information might be encoded in the RSC or whether the RSC representations may be distinct from context representations seen in other brain regions such as the hippocampus. We recorded RSC neuronal responses while rats explored different environments and discovered 2 kinds of context representations: one involving a novel rate code in which neurons reliably fire at a higher rate in the preferred context regardless of spatial location, and a second involving context-dependent spatial firing patterns similar to those seen in the hippocampus. This suggests that the RSC employs a unique dual-factor representational mechanism to support contextual memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam M P Miller
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Anna C Serrichio
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - David M Smith
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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