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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: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [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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2
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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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3
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Motanis H, Khorasani LN, Giza CC, Harris NG. Peering into the Brain through the Retrosplenial Cortex to Assess Cognitive Function of the Injured Brain. Neurotrauma Rep 2021; 2:564-580. [PMID: 34901949 PMCID: PMC8655812 DOI: 10.1089/neur.2021.0044] [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] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a posterior cortical area that has been drawing increasing interest in recent years, with a growing number of studies studying its contribution to cognitive and sensory functions. From an anatomical perspective, it has been established that the RSC is extensively and often reciprocally connected with the hippocampus, neocortex, and many midbrain regions. Functionally, the RSC is an important hub of the default-mode network. This endowment, with vast anatomical and functional connections, positions the RSC to play an important role in episodic memory, spatial and contextual learning, sensory-cognitive activities, and multi-modal sensory information processing and integration. Additionally, RSC dysfunction has been reported in cases of cognitive decline, particularly in Alzheimer's disease and stroke. We review the literature to examine whether the RSC can act as a cortical marker of persistent cognitive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Because the RSC is easily accessible at the brain's surface using in vivo techniques, we argue that studying RSC network activity post-TBI can shed light into the mechanisms of less-accessible brain regions, such as the hippocampus. There is a fundamental gap in the TBI field about the microscale alterations occurring post-trauma, and by studying the RSC's neuronal activity at the cellular level we will be able to design better therapeutic tools. Understanding how neuronal activity and interactions produce normal and abnormal activity in the injured brain is crucial to understanding cognitive dysfunction. By using this approach, we expect to gain valuable insights to better understand brain disorders like TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Motanis
- UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Geffen Medical School, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Laila N. Khorasani
- UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Geffen Medical School, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Christopher C. Giza
- UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Geffen Medical School, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Neil G. Harris
- UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Geffen Medical School, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Intellectual Development and Disabilities Research Center, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- *Address correspondence to: Neil G. Harris, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California at Los Angeles, Wasserman Building, 300 Stein Plaza, Room 551, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA;
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4
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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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5
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Buckley MG, Austen JM, Myles LAM, Smith S, Ihssen N, Lew AR, McGregor A. The effects of spatial stability and cue type on spatial learning: Implications for theories of parallel memory systems. Cognition 2021; 214:104802. [PMID: 34225248 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Some theories of spatial learning predict that associative rules apply under only limited circumstances. For example, learning based on a boundary has been claimed to be immune to cue competition effects because boundary information is the basis for the formation of a cognitive map, whilst landmark learning does not involve cognitive mapping. This is referred to as the cue type hypothesis. However, it has also been claimed that cue stability is a prerequisite for the formation of a cognitive map, meaning that whichever cue type was perceived as stable would enter a cognitive map and thus be immune to cue competition, while unstable cues will be subject to cue competition, regardless of cue type. In experiments 1 and 2 we manipulated the stability of boundary and landmark cues when learning the location of two hidden goals. One goal location was constant with respect to the boundary, and the other constant with respect to the landmark cues. For both cue types, the presence of distal orientation cues provided directional information. For half the participants the landmark cues were unstable relative to the boundary and orientation cues, whereas for the remainder of the participants the boundary was unstable relative to landmarks and orientation cues. In a second stage of training, all cues remained stable so that both goal locations could be learned with respect to both landmark and boundary information. According to the cue type hypothesis, boundary information should block learning about landmarks regardless of cue stability. According to the cue stability hypothesis, however, landmarks should block learning about the boundary when the landmarks appear stable relative to the boundary. Regardless of cue type or stability the results showed reciprocal blocking, contrary to both formulations of incidental cognitive mapping. Experiment 3 established that the results of Experiments 1 and 2 could not be explained in terms of difficulty in learning certain locations with respect to different cue types. In a final experiment, following training in which both landmarks and boundary cues signalled two goal locations, a new goal location was established with respect to the landmark cues, before testing with the boundary, which had never been used to define the new goal location. The results of this novel test of the interaction between boundary and landmark cues indicated that new learning with respect to the landmark had a profound effect on navigation with respect to the boundary, counter to the predictions of incidental cognitive mapping of boundaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G Buckley
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, UK; School of Psychology, Aston University, UK.
| | | | | | - Shamus Smith
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Newcastle, Australia
| | | | - Adina R Lew
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, UK
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Taheri Gorji H, Leocadi M, Grassi F, Galati G. The art gallery maze: a novel tool to assess human navigational abilities. Cogn Process 2021; 22:501-514. [PMID: 33792831 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-021-01022-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Humans differ widely in their ability to navigate effectively through the environment and in spatial memory skills. Navigation in the environment requires the analysis of many spatial cues, the construction of internal representations, and the use of various strategies. We present a novel tool to assess individual differences in human navigation, consisting of a virtual radial-arm maze presented as an art gallery to explore whether different sets of instructions (intentional or incidental) affect subjects' navigation performance. We furthermore tested the effect of the instructions on exploration strategies during both place learning and recall. We evaluated way-finding ability in 42 subjects, and individual differences in navigation were assessed through the analysis of navigational paths, which permitted the isolation and definition of a few strategies adopted by the incidental and intentional instructions groups. Our results showed that the intentional instruction group performed better than the other group: these subjects correctly paired each central statue and the two paintings in the adjacent arms, and they made less working and reference memory errors. Our analysis of path lengths showed that the intentional instruction group spent more time in the maze (thus being slower), specifically in the central hall, and covered more distance; the time spent in the main hall was, therefore, indicative of the quality of the following performance. Studying how environmental representations and the relative navigational strategies vary among "intentional" and "incidental" groups provides a new window into the acknowledgment of possible strategies to help subjects construct more efficient approaches in human navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Taheri Gorji
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. .,Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
| | - Michela Leocadi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina, 60, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesco Grassi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
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7
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Wilson NA, Ahmed RM, Hodges JR, Piguet O, Irish M. Constructing the social world: Impaired capacity for social simulation in dementia. Cognition 2020; 202:104321. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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8
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Nau M, Navarro Schröder T, Frey M, Doeller CF. Behavior-dependent directional tuning in the human visual-navigation network. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3247. [PMID: 32591544 PMCID: PMC7320013 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17000-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain derives cognitive maps from sensory experience that guide memory formation and behavior. Despite extensive efforts, it still remains unclear how the underlying population activity unfolds during spatial navigation and how it relates to memory performance. To examine these processes, we combined 7T-fMRI with a kernel-based encoding model of virtual navigation to map world-centered directional tuning across the human cortex. First, we present an in-depth analysis of directional tuning in visual, retrosplenial, parahippocampal and medial temporal cortices. Second, we show that tuning strength, width and topology of this directional code during memory-guided navigation depend on successful encoding of the environment. Finally, we show that participants' locomotory state influences this tuning in sensory and mnemonic regions such as the hippocampus. We demonstrate a direct link between neural population tuning and human cognition, where high-level memory processing interacts with network-wide visuospatial coding in the service of behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Nau
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Centre for Neural Computation, The Egil and Pauline Braathen and Fred Kavli Centre for Cortical Microcircuits, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Tobias Navarro Schröder
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Centre for Neural Computation, The Egil and Pauline Braathen and Fred Kavli Centre for Cortical Microcircuits, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Markus Frey
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Centre for Neural Computation, The Egil and Pauline Braathen and Fred Kavli Centre for Cortical Microcircuits, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christian F Doeller
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Centre for Neural Computation, The Egil and Pauline Braathen and Fred Kavli Centre for Cortical Microcircuits, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
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9
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Angelaki DE, Laurens J. The head direction cell network: attractor dynamics, integration within the navigation system, and three-dimensional properties. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 60:136-144. [PMID: 31877492 PMCID: PMC7002189 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge of head direction cell function has progressed remarkably in recent years. The predominant theory that they form an attractor has been confirmed by several experiments. Candidate pathways that may convey visual input have been identified. The pre-subicular circuitry that conveys head direction signals to the medial entorhinal cortex, potentially sustaining path integration by grid cells, has been resolved. Although the neuronal substrate of the attractor remains unknown in mammals, a simple head direction network, whose structure is astoundingly similar to neuronal models theorized decades earlier, has been identified in insects. Finally, recent experiments have revealed that these cells do not encode head direction in the horizontal plane only, but also in vertical planes, thus providing a 3D orientation signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dora E Angelaki
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Center for Neural Science and Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, NY, USA
| | - Jean Laurens
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA; Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, Frankfurt, Germany.
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10
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Clark IA, Maguire EA. Do questionnaires reflect their purported cognitive functions? Cognition 2019; 195:104114. [PMID: 31869709 PMCID: PMC6963768 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Imagery and navigation questionnaires reflect their purported cognitive functions. Memory questionnaires reflect autobiographical memory vividness. Episodic details and memory questionnaires measure different aspects of memory. Imagery questionnaires also correlated with memory vividness and future thinking. Single questions modelled performance comparably to established questionnaires.
Questionnaires are used widely across psychology and permit valuable insights into a person’s thoughts and beliefs, which are difficult to derive from task performance measures alone. Given their importance and widespread use, it is vital that questionnaires map onto the cognitive functions they purport to reflect. However, where performance on naturalistic tasks such as imagination, autobiographical memory, future thinking and navigation is concerned, there is a dearth of knowledge about the relationships between task performance and questionnaire measures. Questionnaires are also typically designed to probe a specific aspect of cognition, when instead researchers sometimes want to obtain a broad profile of a participant. To the best of our knowledge, no questionnaire exists that asks simple single questions about a wide range of cognitive functions. To address these gaps in the literature, we recruited a large sample of participants (n = 217), all of whom completed a battery of widely used questionnaires and performed naturalistic tasks involving imagination, autobiographical memory, future thinking and navigation. We also devised a questionnaire that comprised simple single questions about the cognitive functions of interest. There were four main findings. First, imagination and navigation questionnaires reflected performance on their related tasks. Second, memory questionnaires were associated with autobiographical memory vividness and not internal (episodic) details. Third, imagery questionnaires were more associated with autobiographical memory vividness and future thinking than the questionnaires purporting to reflect these functions. Finally, initial exploratory analyses suggested that a broad profile of information can be obtained efficiently using a small number of simple single questions, and these modelled task performance comparably to established questionnaires in young, healthy adults. Overall, while some questionnaires can act as proxies for behaviour, the relationships between memory and future thinking tasks and questionnaires are more complex and require further elucidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian A Clark
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Eleanor A Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK.
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11
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Zajac L, Burte H, Taylor HA, Killiany R. Self-reported navigation ability is associated with optic flow-sensitive regions' functional connectivity patterns during visual path integration. Brain Behav 2019; 9:e01236. [PMID: 30884216 PMCID: PMC6456774 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Spatial navigation is a complex cognitive skill that varies between individuals, and the mechanisms underlying this variability are not clear. Studying simpler components of spatial navigation may help illuminate factors that contribute to variation in this complex skill; path integration is one such component. Optic flow provides self-motion information while moving through an environment and is sufficient for path integration. This study aims to investigate whether self-reported navigation ability is related to information transfer between optic flow-sensitive (OF-sensitive) cortical regions and regions important to navigation during environmental spatial tasks. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to define OF-sensitive regions and map their functional connectivity (FC) with the retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus during visual path integration (VPI) and turn counting (TC) tasks. Both tasks presented visual self-motion through a real-world environment. Correlations predicting a positive association between self-reported navigation ability (measured with the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction scale) and FC strength between OF-sensitive regions and retrosplenial cortex and OF-sensitive regions and the hippocampus were performed. RESULTS During VPI, FC strength between left cingulate sulcus visual area (L CSv) and right retrosplenial cortex and L CSv and right hippocampus was positively associated with self-reported navigation ability. FC strength between right cingulate sulcus visual area (R CSv) and right retrosplenial cortex during VPI was also positively associated with self-reported navigation ability. These relationships were specific to VPI, and whole-brain exploratory analyses corroborated these results. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the hypothesis that perceived spatial navigation ability is associated with communication strength between OF-sensitive and navigationally relevant regions during visual path integration, which may represent the transformation accuracy of visual motion information into internal spatial representations. More broadly, these results illuminate underlying mechanisms that may explain some variability in spatial navigation ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Zajac
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.,Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Heather Burte
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
| | - Holly A Taylor
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
| | - Ronald Killiany
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.,Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
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12
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Clark BJ, Simmons CM, Berkowitz LE, Wilber AA. The retrosplenial-parietal network and reference frame coordination for spatial navigation. Behav Neurosci 2018; 132:416-429. [PMID: 30091619 PMCID: PMC6188841 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The retrosplenial cortex is anatomically positioned to integrate sensory, motor, and visual information and is thought to have an important role in processing spatial information and guiding behavior through complex environments. Anatomical and theoretical work has argued that the retrosplenial cortex participates in spatial behavior in concert with input from the parietal cortex. Although the nature of these interactions is unknown, a central position is that the functional connectivity is hierarchical with egocentric spatial information processed in the parietal cortex and higher-level allocentric mappings generated in the retrosplenial cortex. Here, we review the evidence supporting this proposal. We begin by summarizing the key anatomical features of the retrosplenial-parietal network, and then review studies investigating the neural correlates of these regions during spatial behavior. Our summary of this literature suggests that the retrosplenial-parietal circuitry does not represent a strict hierarchical parcellation of function between the two regions but instead a heterogeneous mixture of egocentric-allocentric coding and integration across frames of reference. We also suggest that this circuitry should be represented as a gradient of egocentric-to-allocentric information processing from parietal to retrosplenial cortices, with more specialized encoding of global allocentric frameworks within the retrosplenial cortex and more specialized egocentric and local allocentric representations in parietal cortex. We conclude by identifying the major gaps in this literature and suggest new avenues of research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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13
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Solari N, Hangya B. Cholinergic modulation of spatial learning, memory and navigation. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 48:2199-2230. [PMID: 30055067 PMCID: PMC6174978 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Spatial learning, including encoding and retrieval of spatial memories as well as holding spatial information in working memory generally serving navigation under a broad range of circumstances, relies on a network of structures. While central to this network are medial temporal lobe structures with a widely appreciated crucial function of the hippocampus, neocortical areas such as the posterior parietal cortex and the retrosplenial cortex also play essential roles. Since the hippocampus receives its main subcortical input from the medial septum of the basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic system, it is not surprising that the potential role of the septo-hippocampal pathway in spatial navigation has been investigated in many studies. Much less is known of the involvement in spatial cognition of the parallel projection system linking the posterior BF with neocortical areas. Here we review the current state of the art of the division of labour within this complex 'navigation system', with special focus on how subcortical cholinergic inputs may regulate various aspects of spatial learning, memory and navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Solari
- Lendület Laboratory of Systems NeuroscienceDepartment of Cellular and Network NeurobiologyInstitute of Experimental MedicineHungarian Academy of SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - Balázs Hangya
- Lendület Laboratory of Systems NeuroscienceDepartment of Cellular and Network NeurobiologyInstitute of Experimental MedicineHungarian Academy of SciencesBudapestHungary
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14
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Coelho CAO, Ferreira TL, Kramer-Soares JC, Sato JR, Oliveira MGM. Network supporting contextual fear learning after dorsal hippocampal damage has increased dependence on retrosplenial cortex. PLoS Comput Biol 2018; 14:e1006207. [PMID: 30086129 PMCID: PMC6097702 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hippocampal damage results in profound retrograde, but no anterograde amnesia in contextual fear conditioning (CFC). Although the content learned in the latter have been discussed, alternative regions supporting CFC learning were seldom proposed and never empirically addressed. Here, we employed network analysis of pCREB expression quantified from brain slices of rats with dorsal hippocampal lesion (dHPC) after undergoing CFC session. Using inter-regional correlations of pCREB-positive nuclei between brain regions, we modelled functional networks using different thresholds. The dHPC network showed small-world topology, equivalent to SHAM (control) network. However, diverging hubs were identified in each network. In a direct comparison, hubs in both networks showed consistently higher centrality values compared to the other network. Further, the distribution of correlation coefficients was different between the groups, with most significantly stronger correlation coefficients belonging to the SHAM network. These results suggest that dHPC network engaged in CFC learning is partially different, and engage alternative hubs. We next tested if pre-training lesions of dHPC and one of the new dHPC network hubs (perirhinal, Per; or disgranular retrosplenial, RSC, cortices) would impair CFC. Only dHPC-RSC, but not dHPC-Per, impaired CFC. Interestingly, only RSC showed a consistently higher centrality in the dHPC network, suggesting that the increased centrality reflects an increased functional dependence on RSC. Our results provide evidence that, without hippocampus, the RSC, an anatomically central region in the medial temporal lobe memory system might support CFC learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cesar A. O. Coelho
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Tatiana L. Ferreira
- Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Universidade Federal do ABC, UFABC, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana C. Kramer-Soares
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - João R. Sato
- Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Universidade Federal do ABC, UFABC, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Maria Gabriela M. Oliveira
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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15
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Auger SD, Maguire EA. Dissociating Landmark Stability from Orienting Value Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:698-713. [PMID: 29308982 PMCID: PMC6118409 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Retrosplenial cortex (RSC) plays a role in using environmental landmarks to help orientate oneself in space. It has also been consistently implicated in processing landmarks that remain fixed in a permanent location. However, it is not clear whether the RSC represents the permanent landmarks themselves or instead the orienting relevance of these landmarks. In previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, these features have been conflated-stable landmarks were always useful for orienting. Here, we dissociated these two key landmark attributes to investigate which one best reflects the function of the RSC. Before scanning, participants learned the features of novel landmarks about which they had no prior knowledge. During fMRI scanning, we found that the RSC was more engaged when people viewed permanent compared with transient landmarks and was not responsive to the orienting relevance of landmarks. Activity in RSC was also related to the amount of landmark permanence information a person had acquired and, as knowledge increased, the more the RSC drove responses in the anterior thalamus while viewing permanent landmarks. In contrast, the angular gyrus and the hippocampus were engaged by the orienting relevance of landmarks, but not their permanence, with the hippocampus also sensitive to the distance between relevant landmarks and target locations. We conclude that the coding of permanent landmarks in RSC may drive processing in regions like anterior thalamus, with possible implications for the efficacy of functions such as navigation.
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16
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Mitchell AS, Czajkowski R, Zhang N, Jeffery K, Nelson AJD. Retrosplenial cortex and its role in spatial cognition. Brain Neurosci Adv 2018; 2:2398212818757098. [PMID: 30221204 PMCID: PMC6095108 DOI: 10.1177/2398212818757098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Retrosplenial cortex is a region within the posterior neocortical system, heavily interconnected with an array of brain networks, both cortical and subcortical, that is, engaged by a myriad of cognitive tasks. Although there is no consensus as to its precise function, evidence from both human and animal studies clearly points to a role in spatial cognition. However, the spatial processing impairments that follow retrosplenial cortex damage are not straightforward to characterise, leading to difficulties in defining the exact nature of its role. In this article, we review this literature and classify the types of ideas that have been put forward into three broad, somewhat overlapping classes: (1) learning of landmark location, stability and permanence; (2) integration between spatial reference frames; and (3) consolidation and retrieval of spatial knowledge (schemas). We evaluate these models and suggest ways to test them, before briefly discussing whether the spatial function may be a subset of a more general function in episodic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna S. Mitchell
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Rafal Czajkowski
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ningyu Zhang
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kate Jeffery
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
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17
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Retrosplenial Cortex Indexes Stability beyond the Spatial Domain. J Neurosci 2018; 38:1472-1481. [PMID: 29311139 PMCID: PMC5815348 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2602-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2017] [Revised: 12/01/2017] [Accepted: 12/09/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is highly responsive to landmarks in the environment that remain fixed in a permanent location, and this has been linked with its known involvement in scene and spatial processing. However, it is unclear whether RSC representations of permanence are a purely spatial phenomenon or whether they extend into behavioral and conceptual domains. To test this, during functional MRI scanning, we had people (males and females) read three different types of sentences that described either something permanent or transient. The first two sentence types were imageable, with a focus either on a spatial landmark or on an action. The third type of sentence involved non-imageable abstract concepts. We found that, in addition to being more active for sentences describing landmarks with a permanent location in space, RSC was also significantly engaged by sentences describing stable and consistent behaviors or actions, as long as they were rooted within a concrete imageable setting. RSC was not responsive to abstract concepts, even those that embodied the notion of stability. Similarly, it was not engaged by imageable sentences with transient contents. In contrast, parahippocampal cortex was more engaged by imageable sentences describing landmarks, whereas the hippocampus was active for all imageable sentences. In addition, for imageable sentences describing permanence, there was bidirectional functional coupling between RSC and these medial temporal lobe structures. It appears, therefore, that RSC-mediated permanence representations could be helpful for more than spatially mapping environments and may also provide information about the reliability of events occurring within them. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is known to process information about landmarks in the environment that have a fixed, permanent location. Here we tested whether this permanence response was apparent beyond the spatial domain, which could have implications for understanding the role of the RSC more widely across cognition. We found that the RSC was engaged not only by permanent landmarks but also by stable and consistent actions. It was not responsive to transient landmarks or actions or to abstract concepts, even those that embodied the notion of stability. We conclude that the RSC might do more than help to map spatial environments, by possibly also providing information about the reliability of events occurring within them.
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