1
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Dubanet O, Higley MJ. Retrosplenial inputs drive visual representations in the medial entorhinal cortex. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114470. [PMID: 38985682 PMCID: PMC11300029 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The importance of visual cues for navigation and goal-directed behavior is well established, although the neural mechanisms supporting sensory representations in navigational circuits are largely unknown. Navigation is fundamentally dependent on the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), which receives direct projections from neocortical visual areas, including the retrosplenial cortex (RSC). Here, we perform high-density recordings of MEC neurons in awake, head-fixed mice presented with simple visual stimuli and assess the dynamics of sensory-evoked activity. We find that a large fraction of neurons exhibit robust responses to visual input. Visually responsive cells are located primarily in layer 3 of the dorsal MEC and can be separated into subgroups based on functional and molecular properties. Furthermore, optogenetic suppression of RSC afferents within the MEC strongly reduces visual responses. Overall, our results demonstrate that the MEC can encode simple visual cues in the environment that may contribute to neural representations of location necessary for accurate navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Dubanet
- Department of Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Michael J Higley
- Department of Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
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2
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O’Hare JK, Wang J, Shala MD, Polleux F, Losonczy A. Variable recruitment of distal tuft dendrites shapes new hippocampal place fields. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.26.582144. [PMID: 38464058 PMCID: PMC10925200 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.26.582144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Hippocampal pyramidal neurons support episodic memory by integrating complementary information streams into new 'place fields'. Distal tuft dendrites are widely thought to initiate place field formation by locally generating prolonged, globally-spreading Ca 2+ spikes known as plateau potentials. However, the hitherto experimental inaccessibility of distal tuft dendrites in the hippocampus has rendered their in vivo function entirely unknown. Here we gained direct optical access to this elusive dendritic compartment. We report that distal tuft dendrites do not serve as the point of origin for place field-forming plateau potentials. Instead, the timing and extent of peri-formation distal tuft recruitment is variable and closely predicts multiple properties of resultant place fields. Therefore, distal tuft dendrites play a more powerful role in hippocampal feature selectivity than simply initiating place field formation. Moreover, place field formation is not accompanied by global Ca 2+ influx as previously thought. In addition to shaping new somatic place fields, distal tuft dendrites possess their own local place fields. Tuft place fields are back-shifted relative to that of their soma and appear to maintain somatic place fields via post-formation plateau potentials. Through direct in vivo observation, we provide a revised dendritic basis for hippocampal feature selectivity during navigational learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin K. O’Hare
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University; New York, NY, United States
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University; New York, NY, United States
| | - Jamie Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University; Durham, NC, United States
| | - Margjele D. Shala
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University; New York, NY, United States
| | - Franck Polleux
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University; New York, NY, United States
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University; New York, NY, United States
| | - Attila Losonczy
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University; New York, NY, United States
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University; New York, NY, United States
- Lead contact
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3
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Herber CS, Pratt KJ, Shea JM, Villeda SA, Giocomo LM. Spatial Coding Dysfunction and Network Instability in the Aging Medial Entorhinal Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.12.588890. [PMID: 38659809 PMCID: PMC11042240 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.12.588890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Across species, spatial memory declines with age, possibly reflecting altered hippocampal and medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) function. However, the integrity of cellular and network-level spatial coding in aged MEC is unknown. Here, we leveraged in vivo electrophysiology to assess MEC function in young, middle-aged, and aged mice navigating virtual environments. In aged grid cells, we observed impaired stabilization of context-specific spatial firing, correlated with spatial memory deficits. Additionally, aged grid networks shifted firing patterns often but with poor alignment to context changes. Aged spatial firing was also unstable in an unchanging environment. In these same mice, we identified 458 genes differentially expressed with age in MEC, 61 of which had expression correlated with spatial firing stability. These genes were enriched among interneurons and related to synaptic transmission. Together, these findings identify coordinated transcriptomic, cellular, and network changes in MEC implicated in impaired spatial memory in aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte S. Herber
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Karishma J.B. Pratt
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0452, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Jeremy M. Shea
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0452, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Saul A. Villeda
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0452, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
- Bakar Aging Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Lisa M. Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Lead contact
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4
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Esparza J, Sebastián ER, de la Prida LM. From cell types to population dynamics: Making hippocampal manifolds physiologically interpretable. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2023; 83:102800. [PMID: 37898015 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2023.102800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023]
Abstract
The study of the hippocampal code is gaining momentum. While the physiological approach targets the contribution of individual cells as determined by genetic, biophysical and circuit factors, the field pushes for a population dynamic approach that considers the representation of behavioural variables by a large number of neurons. In this alternative framework, neuronal activity is projected into low-dimensional manifolds. These manifolds can reveal the structure of population representations, but their physiological interpretation is challenging. Here, we review the recent literature and propose that integrating information regarding behavioral traits, local field potential oscillations and cell-type-specificity into neural manifolds offers strategies to make them interpretable at the physiological level.
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5
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Robinson JC, Wilmot JH, Hasselmo ME. Septo-hippocampal dynamics and the encoding of space and time. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:712-725. [PMID: 37479632 PMCID: PMC10538955 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
Encoding an event in memory requires neural activity to represent multiple dimensions of behavioral experience in space and time. Recent experiments have explored the influence of neural dynamics regulated by the medial septum on the functional encoding of space and time by neurons in the hippocampus and associated structures. This review addresses these dynamics, focusing on the role of theta rhythm, the differential effects of septal inactivation and activation on the functional coding of space and time by individual neurons, and the influence on phase coding that appears as phase precession. We also discuss data indicating that theta rhythm plays a role in timing the internal dynamics of memory encoding and retrieval, as well as the behavioral influences of these neuronal manipulations with regard to memory function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer C Robinson
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
| | - Jacob H Wilmot
- 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.
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6
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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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7
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Tukker JJ, Beed P, Brecht M, Kempter R, Moser EI, Schmitz D. Microcircuits for spatial coding in the medial entorhinal cortex. Physiol Rev 2022; 102:653-688. [PMID: 34254836 PMCID: PMC8759973 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00042.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The hippocampal formation is critically involved in learning and memory and contains a large proportion of neurons encoding aspects of the organism's spatial surroundings. In the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), this includes grid cells with their distinctive hexagonal firing fields as well as a host of other functionally defined cell types including head direction cells, speed cells, border cells, and object-vector cells. Such spatial coding emerges from the processing of external inputs by local microcircuits. However, it remains unclear exactly how local microcircuits and their dynamics within the MEC contribute to spatial discharge patterns. In this review we focus on recent investigations of intrinsic MEC connectivity, which have started to describe and quantify both excitatory and inhibitory wiring in the superficial layers of the MEC. Although the picture is far from complete, it appears that these layers contain robust recurrent connectivity that could sustain the attractor dynamics posited to underlie grid pattern formation. These findings pave the way to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying spatial navigation and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- John J Tukker
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Prateep Beed
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humbold-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Brecht
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Neurocure Cluster of Excellence, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Richard Kempter
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Edvard I Moser
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Dietmar Schmitz
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humbold-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Neurocure Cluster of Excellence, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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8
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Farrell JS, Lovett-Barron M, Klein PM, Sparks FT, Gschwind T, Ortiz AL, Ahanonu B, Bradbury S, Terada S, Oijala M, Hwaun E, Dudok B, Szabo G, Schnitzer MJ, Deisseroth K, Losonczy A, Soltesz I. Supramammillary regulation of locomotion and hippocampal activity. Science 2021; 374:1492-1496. [PMID: 34914519 PMCID: PMC9154354 DOI: 10.1126/science.abh4272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Locomotor speed is a basic input used to calculate one’s position, but where this signal comes from is unclear. We identified neurons in the supramammillary nucleus (SuM) of the rodent hypothalamus that were highly correlated with future locomotor speed and reliably drove locomotion when activated. Robust locomotion control was specifically identified in Tac1 (substance P)–expressing (SuMTac1+) neurons, the activation of which selectively controlled the activity of speed-modulated hippocampal neurons. By contrast, Tac1-deficient (SuMTac1−) cells weakly regulated locomotion but potently controlled the spike timing of hippocampal neurons and were sufficient to entrain local network oscillations. These findings emphasize that the SuM not only regulates basic locomotor activity but also selectively shapes hippocampal neural activity in a manner that may support spatial navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew Lovett-Barron
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Peter M. Klein
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Fraser T. Sparks
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, USA
- Kavli Institute for Brain Sciences, Columbia University, New York, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Tilo Gschwind
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Anna L. Ortiz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Biafra Ahanonu
- Departments of Biology and Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Susanna Bradbury
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Satoshi Terada
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, USA
- Kavli Institute for Brain Sciences, Columbia University, New York, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Mikko Oijala
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ernie Hwaun
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Barna Dudok
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Gergely Szabo
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Mark J. Schnitzer
- Departments of Biology and Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Karl Deisseroth
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Attila Losonczy
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, USA
- Kavli Institute for Brain Sciences, Columbia University, New York, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Ivan Soltesz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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9
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DiTullio RW, Balasubramanian V. Dynamical self-organization and efficient representation of space by grid cells. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 70:206-213. [PMID: 34861597 PMCID: PMC8688296 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
To plan trajectories and navigate, animals must maintain a mental representation of the environment and their own position within it. This "cognitive map" is thought to be supported in part by the entorhinal cortex, where grid cells are active when an animal occupies the vertices of a scaling hierarchy of periodic lattices of locations in an enclosure. Here, we review computational developments which suggest that the grid cell network is: (a) efficient, providing required spatial resolution with a minimum number of neurons, (b) self-organizing, dynamically coordinating the structure and scale of the responses, and (c) adaptive, re-organizing in response to changes in landmarks and the structure of the boundaries of spaces. We consider these ideas in light of recent discoveries of similar structures in the mental representation of abstract spaces of shapes and smells, and in other brain areas, and highlight promising directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald W. DiTullio
- David Rittenhouse Laboratories & Computational Neuroscience Initiative, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Vijay Balasubramanian
- David Rittenhouse Laboratories & Computational Neuroscience Initiative, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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10
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Rueckemann JW, Sosa M, Giocomo LM, Buffalo EA. The grid code for ordered experience. Nat Rev Neurosci 2021; 22:637-649. [PMID: 34453151 PMCID: PMC9371942 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-021-00499-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Entorhinal cortical grid cells fire in a periodic pattern that tiles space, which is suggestive of a spatial coordinate system. However, irregularities in the grid pattern as well as responses of grid cells in contexts other than spatial navigation have presented a challenge to existing models of entorhinal function. In this Perspective, we propose that hippocampal input provides a key informative drive to the grid network in both spatial and non-spatial circumstances, particularly around salient events. We build on previous models in which neural activity propagates through the entorhinal-hippocampal network in time. This temporal contiguity in network activity points to temporal order as a necessary characteristic of representations generated by the hippocampal formation. We advocate that interactions in the entorhinal-hippocampal loop build a topological representation that is rooted in the temporal order of experience. In this way, the structure of grid cell firing supports a learned topology rather than a rigid coordinate frame that is bound to measurements of the physical world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon W Rueckemann
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
- Washington National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Marielena Sosa
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Elizabeth A Buffalo
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Washington National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
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11
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Low IIC, Williams AH, Campbell MG, Linderman SW, Giocomo LM. Dynamic and reversible remapping of network representations in an unchanging environment. Neuron 2021; 109:2967-2980.e11. [PMID: 34363753 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex alter their firing properties in response to environmental changes. This flexibility in neural coding is hypothesized to support navigation and memory by dividing sensory experience into unique episodes. However, it is unknown how the entorhinal circuit as a whole transitions between different representations when sensory information is not delineated into discrete contexts. Here we describe rapid and reversible transitions between multiple spatial maps of an unchanging task and environment. These remapping events were synchronized across hundreds of neurons, differentially affected navigational cell types, and correlated with changes in running speed. Despite widespread changes in spatial coding, remapping comprised a translation along a single dimension in population-level activity space, enabling simple decoding strategies. These findings provoke reconsideration of how the medial entorhinal cortex dynamically represents space and suggest a remarkable capacity of cortical circuits to rapidly and substantially reorganize their neural representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel I C Low
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Alex H Williams
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Malcolm G Campbell
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Scott W Linderman
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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12
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Poitreau J, Buttet M, Manrique C, Poucet B, Sargolini F, Save E. Navigation using global or local reference frames in rats with medial and lateral entorhinal cortex lesions. Behav Brain Res 2021; 413:113448. [PMID: 34246711 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The medial (MEC) and the lateral (LEC) regions of the entorhinal cortex send a major input to the hippocampus and have been proposed to play a foremost role in combining spatial and non-spatial attributes of episodic memory. In addition, it has been recently suggested that the MEC is involved in the processing of information in a global reference frame and the LEC in the processing of information in a local reference frame. Whether these putative functions could be generalized to navigation contexts has not been established yet. To address this hypothesis, rats with MEC or LEC NMDA-induced lesions were trained in two versions of a navigation task in the water maze, a global cue condition in which they had to use distal room cues and a local cue condition in which they had to use 3 objects placed in the pool. In the global cue condition, MEC-lesioned rats exhibited slower acquisition and were not able to precisely locate the submerged platform during the probe trial. In contrast LEC-lesioned rats exhibited control-like performance. In the local cue condition, navigational abilities were spared in both lesion groups. In addition when the 3 different objects were replaced by 3 identical objects, all groups maintained their navigation accuracy suggesting that the identity of objects is not crucial for place navigation. Overall, the results indicate that the MEC is necessary for place navigation using a global reference frame. In contrast, navigation using a local reference frame does not require the LEC nor the MEC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Manon Buttet
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Marseille, France
| | | | - Bruno Poucet
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Marseille, France
| | | | - Etienne Save
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Marseille, France.
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13
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Mallory CS, Hardcastle K, Campbell MG, Attinger A, Low IIC, Raymond JL, Giocomo LM. Mouse entorhinal cortex encodes a diverse repertoire of self-motion signals. Nat Commun 2021; 12:671. [PMID: 33510164 PMCID: PMC7844029 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-20936-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural circuits generate representations of the external world from multiple information streams. The navigation system provides an exceptional lens through which we may gain insights about how such computations are implemented. Neural circuits in the medial temporal lobe construct a map-like representation of space that supports navigation. This computation integrates multiple sensory cues, and, in addition, is thought to require cues related to the individual's movement through the environment. Here, we identify multiple self-motion signals, related to the position and velocity of the head and eyes, encoded by neurons in a key node of the navigation circuitry of mice, the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC). The representation of these signals is highly integrated with other cues in individual neurons. Such information could be used to compute the allocentric location of landmarks from visual cues and to generate internal representations of space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin S Mallory
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kiah Hardcastle
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Malcolm G Campbell
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Alexander Attinger
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Isabel I C Low
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer L Raymond
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
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14
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Dannenberg H, Lazaro H, Nambiar P, Hoyland A, Hasselmo ME. Effects of visual inputs on neural dynamics for coding of location and running speed in medial entorhinal cortex. eLife 2020; 9:62500. [PMID: 33300873 PMCID: PMC7773338 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal representations of spatial location and movement speed in the medial entorhinal cortex during the ‘active’ theta state of the brain are important for memory-guided navigation and rely on visual inputs. However, little is known about how visual inputs change neural dynamics as a function of running speed and time. By manipulating visual inputs in mice, we demonstrate that changes in spatial stability of grid cell firing correlate with changes in a proposed speed signal by local field potential theta frequency. In contrast, visual inputs do not alter the running speed-dependent gain in neuronal firing rates. Moreover, we provide evidence that sensory inputs other than visual inputs can support grid cell firing, though less accurately, in complete darkness. Finally, changes in spatial accuracy of grid cell firing on a 10 s time scale suggest that grid cell firing is a function of velocity signals integrated over past time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holger Dannenberg
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, United States
| | - Hallie Lazaro
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, United States
| | - Pranav Nambiar
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, United States
| | - Alec Hoyland
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, United States
| | - Michael E Hasselmo
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, United States
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15
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Munn RGK, Giocomo LM. Multiple head direction signals within entorhinal cortex: origin and function. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 64:32-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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16
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Jacob PY, Van Cauter T, Poucet B, Sargolini F, Save E. Medial entorhinal cortex lesions induce degradation of CA1 place cell firing stability when self-motion information is used. Brain Neurosci Adv 2020; 4:2398212820953004. [PMID: 33088918 PMCID: PMC7545758 DOI: 10.1177/2398212820953004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The entorhinal–hippocampus network plays a central role in navigation and episodic memory formation. To investigate these interactions, we examined the effect of medial entorhinal cortex lesions on hippocampal place cell activity. Since the medial entorhinal cortex is suggested to play a role in the processing of self-motion information, we hypothesised that such processing would be necessary for maintaining stable place fields in the absence of environmental cues. Place cells were recorded as medial entorhinal cortex–lesioned rats explored a circular arena during five 16-min sessions comprising a baseline session with all sensory inputs available followed by four sessions during which environmental (i.e. visual, olfactory, tactile) cues were progressively reduced to the point that animals could rely exclusively on self-motion cues to maintain stable place fields. We found that place field stability and a number of place cell firing properties were affected by medial entorhinal cortex lesions in the baseline session. When rats were forced to rely exclusively on self-motion cues, within-session place field stability was dramatically decreased in medial entorhinal cortex rats relative to SHAM rats. These results support a major role of the medial entorhinal cortex in processing self-motion cues, with this information being conveyed to the hippocampus to help anchor and maintain a stable spatial representation during movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Yves Jacob
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Marseille, France
| | - Tiffany Van Cauter
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Poucet
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Marseille, France
| | - Francesca Sargolini
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Marseille, France
| | - Etienne Save
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Marseille, France
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17
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Keinath AT, Rechnitz O, Balasubramanian V, Epstein RA. Environmental deformations dynamically shift human spatial memory. Hippocampus 2020; 31:89-101. [PMID: 32941670 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Place and grid cells in the hippocampal formation are commonly thought to support a unified and coherent cognitive map of space. This mapping mechanism faces a challenge when a navigator is placed in a familiar environment that has been deformed from its original shape. Under such circumstances, many transformations could plausibly serve to map a navigator's familiar cognitive map to the deformed space. Previous empirical results indicate that the firing fields of rodent place and grid cells stretch or compress in a manner that approximately matches the environmental deformation, and human spatial memory exhibits similar distortions. These effects have been interpreted as evidence that reshaping a familiar environment elicits an analogously reshaped cognitive map. However, recent work has suggested an alternative explanation, whereby deformation-induced distortions of the grid code are attributable to a mechanism that dynamically anchors grid fields to the most recently experienced boundary, thus causing history-dependent shifts in grid phase. This interpretation raises the possibility that human spatial memory will exhibit similar history-dependent dynamics. To test this prediction, we taught participants the locations of objects in a virtual environment and then probed their memory for these locations in deformed versions of this environment. Across three experiments with variable access to visual and vestibular cues, we observed the predicted pattern, whereby the remembered locations of objects were shifted from trial to trial depending on the boundary of origin of the participant's movement trajectory. These results provide evidence for a dynamic anchoring mechanism that governs both neuronal firing and spatial memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra T Keinath
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ohad Rechnitz
- Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | | | - Russell A Epstein
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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18
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Kovács KA. Episodic Memories: How do the Hippocampus and the Entorhinal Ring Attractors Cooperate to Create Them? Front Syst Neurosci 2020; 14:559168. [PMID: 33013334 PMCID: PMC7511719 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.559186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain is capable of registering a constellation of events, encountered only once, as an episodic memory that can last for a lifetime. As evidenced by the clinical case of the patient HM, memories preserving their episodic nature still depend on the hippocampal formation, several years after being created, while semantic memories are thought to reside in neocortical areas. The neurobiological substrate of one-time learning and life-long storing in the brain, that must exist at the cellular and circuit level, is still undiscovered. The breakthrough is delayed by the fact that studies jointly investigating the rodent hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are mostly targeted at understanding the spatial aspect of learning. Here, we present the concept of an entorhinal cortical module, termed EPISODE module, that could explain how the representations of different elements constituting episodic memories can be linked together at the stage of encoding. The new model that we propose here reconciles the structural and functional observations made in the entorhinal cortex and explains how the downstream hippocampal processing organizes the representations into meaningful sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krisztián A Kovács
- Retina Research Laboratory, Martonvásár Research Premises, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, Hungary
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19
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Bermudez-Contreras E, Clark BJ, Wilber A. The Neuroscience of Spatial Navigation and the Relationship to Artificial Intelligence. Front Comput Neurosci 2020; 14:63. [PMID: 32848684 PMCID: PMC7399088 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2020.00063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and neuroscience are impressive. In AI, this includes the development of computer programs that can beat a grandmaster at GO or outperform human radiologists at cancer detection. A great deal of these technological developments are directly related to progress in artificial neural networks-initially inspired by our knowledge about how the brain carries out computation. In parallel, neuroscience has also experienced significant advances in understanding the brain. For example, in the field of spatial navigation, knowledge about the mechanisms and brain regions involved in neural computations of cognitive maps-an internal representation of space-recently received the Nobel Prize in medicine. Much of the recent progress in neuroscience has partly been due to the development of technology used to record from very large populations of neurons in multiple regions of the brain with exquisite temporal and spatial resolution in behaving animals. With the advent of the vast quantities of data that these techniques allow us to collect there has been an increased interest in the intersection between AI and neuroscience, many of these intersections involve using AI as a novel tool to explore and analyze these large data sets. However, given the common initial motivation point-to understand the brain-these disciplines could be more strongly linked. Currently much of this potential synergy is not being realized. We propose that spatial navigation is an excellent area in which these two disciplines can converge to help advance what we know about the brain. In this review, we first summarize progress in the neuroscience of spatial navigation and reinforcement learning. We then turn our attention to discuss how spatial navigation has been modeled using descriptive, mechanistic, and normative approaches and the use of AI in such models. Next, we discuss how AI can advance neuroscience, how neuroscience can advance AI, and the limitations of these approaches. We finally conclude by highlighting promising lines of research in which spatial navigation can be the point of intersection between neuroscience and AI and how this can contribute to the advancement of the understanding of intelligent behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Benjamin J. Clark
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Aaron Wilber
- Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
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20
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Altered Hippocampal Place Cell Representation and Theta Rhythmicity following Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. Curr Biol 2020; 30:3556-3569.e5. [PMID: 32707066 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) leads to profound deficits in spatial memory and synaptic and cellular alterations to the hippocampus that last into adulthood. Neurons in the hippocampus called place cells discharge as an animal enters specific places in an environment, establish distinct ensemble codes for familiar and novel places, and are modulated by local theta rhythms. Spatial memory is thought to critically depend on the integrity of hippocampal place cell firing. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that hippocampal place cell firing is impaired after PAE by performing in vivo recordings from the hippocampi (CA1 and CA3) of moderate PAE and control adult rats. Our results show that hippocampal CA3 neurons from PAE rats have reduced spatial tuning. Second, CA1 and CA3 neurons from PAE rats are less likely to orthogonalize their firing between directions of travel on a linear track and between changes in contextual stimuli in an open arena compared to control neurons. Lastly, reductions in the number of hippocampal place cells exhibiting significant theta rhythmicity and phase precession were observed, which may suggest changes to hippocampal microcircuit function. Together, the reduced spatial tuning and sensitivity to contextual changes provide a neural systems-level mechanism to explain spatial memory impairment after moderate PAE.
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21
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Alexander AS, Robinson JC, Dannenberg H, Kinsky NR, Levy SJ, Mau W, Chapman GW, Sullivan DW, Hasselmo ME. Neurophysiological coding of space and time in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and retrosplenial cortex. Brain Neurosci Adv 2020; 4:2398212820972871. [PMID: 33294626 PMCID: PMC7708714 DOI: 10.1177/2398212820972871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurophysiological recordings in behaving rodents demonstrate neuronal response properties that may code space and time for episodic memory and goal-directed behaviour. Here, we review recordings from hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and retrosplenial cortex to address the problem of how neurons encode multiple overlapping spatiotemporal trajectories and disambiguate these for accurate memory-guided behaviour. The solution could involve neurons in the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus that show mixed selectivity, coding both time and location. Some grid cells and place cells that code space also respond selectively as time cells, allowing differentiation of time intervals when a rat runs in the same location during a delay period. Cells in these regions also develop new representations that differentially code the context of prior or future behaviour allowing disambiguation of overlapping trajectories. Spiking activity is also modulated by running speed and head direction, supporting the coding of episodic memory not as a series of snapshots but as a trajectory that can also be distinguished on the basis of speed and direction. Recent data also address the mechanisms by which sensory input could distinguish different spatial locations. Changes in firing rate reflect running speed on long but not short time intervals, and few cells code movement direction, arguing against path integration for coding location. Instead, new evidence for neural coding of environmental boundaries in egocentric coordinates fits with a modelling framework in which egocentric coding of barriers combined with head direction generates distinct allocentric coding of location. The egocentric input can be used both for coding the location of spatiotemporal trajectories and for retrieving specific viewpoints of the environment. Overall, these different patterns of neural activity can be used for encoding and disambiguation of prior episodic spatiotemporal trajectories or for planning of future goal-directed spatiotemporal trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Samuel J. Levy
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William Mau
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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