1
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Dong LL, Fiete IR. Grid Cells in Cognition: Mechanisms and Function. Annu Rev Neurosci 2024; 47:345-368. [PMID: 38684081 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-101323-112047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
The activity patterns of grid cells form distinctively regular triangular lattices over the explored spatial environment and are largely invariant to visual stimuli, animal movement, and environment geometry. These neurons present numerous fascinating challenges to the curious (neuro)scientist: What are the circuit mechanisms responsible for creating spatially periodic activity patterns from the monotonic input-output responses of single neurons? How and why does the brain encode a local, nonperiodic variable-the allocentric position of the animal-with a periodic, nonlocal code? And, are grid cells truly specialized for spatial computations? Otherwise, what is their role in general cognition more broadly? We review efforts in uncovering the mechanisms and functional properties of grid cells, highlighting recent progress in the experimental validation of mechanistic grid cell models, and discuss the coding properties and functional advantages of the grid code as suggested by continuous attractor network models of grid cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling L Dong
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;
| | - Ila R Fiete
- McGovern Institute and K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;
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2
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McNaughton N, Bannerman D. The homogenous hippocampus: How hippocampal cells process available and potential goals. Prog Neurobiol 2024; 240:102653. [PMID: 38960002 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2024.102653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
We present here a view of the firing patterns of hippocampal cells that is contrary, both functionally and anatomically, to conventional wisdom. We argue that the hippocampus responds to efference copies of goals encoded elsewhere; and that it uses these to detect and resolve conflict or interference between goals in general. While goals can involve space, hippocampal cells do not encode spatial (or other special types of) memory, as such. We also argue that the transverse circuits of the hippocampus operate in an essentially homogeneous way along its length. The apparently different functions of different parts (e.g. memory retrieval versus anxiety) result from the different (situational/motivational) inputs on which those parts perform the same fundamental computational operations. On this view, the key role of the hippocampus is the iterative adjustment, via Papez-like circuits, of synaptic weights in cell assemblies elsewhere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil McNaughton
- Department of Psychology and Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, POB56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
| | - David Bannerman
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, England, UK
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3
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Redman WT, Acosta-Mendoza S, Wei XX, Goard MJ. Robust variability of grid cell properties within individual grid modules enhances encoding of local space. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.27.582373. [PMID: 38915504 PMCID: PMC11195105 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.27.582373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
Although grid cells are one of the most well studied functional classes of neurons in the mammalian brain, the assumption that there is a single grid orientation and spacing per grid module has not been carefully tested. We investigate and analyze a recent large-scale recording of medial entorhinal cortex to characterize the presence and degree of heterogeneity of grid properties within individual modules. We find evidence for small, but robust, variability and hypothesize that this property of the grid code could enhance the ability of encoding local spatial information. Performing analysis on synthetic populations of grid cells, where we have complete control over the amount heterogeneity in grid properties, we demonstrate that variability, of a similar magnitude to the analyzed data, leads to significantly decreased decoding error, even when restricted to activity from a single module. Our results highlight how the heterogeneity of the neural response properties may benefit coding and opens new directions for theoretical and experimental analysis of grid cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- William T Redman
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Dynamical Neuroscience, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Intelligent Systems Center, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
| | - Santiago Acosta-Mendoza
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Dynamical Neuroscience, University of California, Santa Barbara
| | - Xue-Xin Wei
- Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin
- Center for Perceptual Systems, The University of Texas at Austin
- Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin
| | - Michael J Goard
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbara
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4
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Peters-Founshtein G, Dafni-Merom A, Monsa R, Arzy S. Evidence for grid-cell-like activity in the time domain. Neuropsychologia 2024; 198:108878. [PMID: 38574806 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
The relation between the processing of space and time in the brain has been an enduring cross-disciplinary question. Grid cells have been recognized as a hallmark of the mammalian navigation system, with recent studies attesting to their involvement in the organization of conceptual knowledge in humans. To determine whether grid-cell-like representations support temporal processing, we asked subjects to mentally simulate changes in age and time-of-day, each constituting "trajectory" in an age-day space, while undergoing fMRI. We found that grid-cell-like representations supported trajecting across this age-day space. Furthermore, brain regions concurrently coding past-to-future orientation positively modulated the magnitude of grid-cell-like representation in the left entorhinal cortex. Finally, our findings suggest that temporal processing may be supported by spatially modulated systems, and that innate regularities of abstract domains may interface and alter grid-cell-like representations, similarly to spatial geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory Peters-Founshtein
- The Computational Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
| | - Amnon Dafni-Merom
- The Computational Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Rotem Monsa
- The Computational Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Shahar Arzy
- The Computational Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
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5
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Neupane S, Fiete I, Jazayeri M. Mental navigation in the primate entorhinal cortex. Nature 2024; 630:704-711. [PMID: 38867051 PMCID: PMC11224022 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07557-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
A cognitive map is a suitably structured representation that enables novel computations using previous experience; for example, planning a new route in a familiar space1. Work in mammals has found direct evidence for such representations in the presence of exogenous sensory inputs in both spatial2,3 and non-spatial domains4-10. Here we tested a foundational postulate of the original cognitive map theory1,11: that cognitive maps support endogenous computations without external input. We recorded from the entorhinal cortex of monkeys in a mental navigation task that required the monkeys to use a joystick to produce one-dimensional vectors between pairs of visual landmarks without seeing the intermediate landmarks. The ability of the monkeys to perform the task and generalize to new pairs indicated that they relied on a structured representation of the landmarks. Task-modulated neurons exhibited periodicity and ramping that matched the temporal structure of the landmarks and showed signatures of continuous attractor networks12,13. A continuous attractor network model of path integration14 augmented with a Hebbian-like learning mechanism provided an explanation of how the system could endogenously recall landmarks. The model also made an unexpected prediction that endogenous landmarks transiently slow path integration, reset the dynamics and thereby reduce variability. This prediction was borne out in a reanalysis of firing rate variability and behaviour. Our findings link the structured patterns of activity in the entorhinal cortex to the endogenous recruitment of a cognitive map during mental navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujaya Neupane
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ila Fiete
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mehrdad Jazayeri
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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6
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Yadav N, Toader A, Rajasethupathy P. Beyond hippocampus: Thalamic and prefrontal contributions to an evolving memory. Neuron 2024; 112:1045-1059. [PMID: 38272026 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The hippocampus has long been at the center of memory research, and rightfully so. However, with emerging technological capabilities, we can increasingly appreciate memory as a more dynamic and brain-wide process. In this perspective, our goal is to begin developing models to understand the gradual evolution, reorganization, and stabilization of memories across the brain after their initial formation in the hippocampus. By synthesizing studies across the rodent and human literature, we suggest that as memory representations initially form in hippocampus, parallel traces emerge in frontal cortex that cue memory recall, and as they mature, with sustained support initially from limbic then diencephalic then cortical circuits, they become progressively independent of hippocampus and dependent on a mature cortical representation. A key feature of this model is that, as time progresses, memory representations are passed on to distinct circuits with progressively longer time constants, providing the opportunity to filter, forget, update, or reorganize memories in the process of committing to long-term storage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nakul Yadav
- Laboratory of Neural Dynamics & Cognition, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Andrew Toader
- Laboratory of Neural Dynamics & Cognition, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Priya Rajasethupathy
- Laboratory of Neural Dynamics & Cognition, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
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7
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McNamee DC. The generative neural microdynamics of cognitive processing. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 85:102855. [PMID: 38428170 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
The entorhinal cortex and hippocampus form a recurrent network that informs many cognitive processes, including memory, planning, navigation, and imagination. Neural recordings from these regions reveal spatially organized population codes corresponding to external environments and abstract spaces. Aligning the former cognitive functionalities with the latter neural phenomena is a central challenge in understanding the entorhinal-hippocampal circuit (EHC). Disparate experiments demonstrate a surprising level of complexity and apparent disorder in the intricate spatiotemporal dynamics of sequential non-local hippocampal reactivations, which occur particularly, though not exclusively, during immobile pauses and rest. We review these phenomena with a particular focus on their apparent lack of physical simulative realism. These observations are then integrated within a theoretical framework and proposed neural circuit mechanisms that normatively characterize this neural complexity by conceiving different regimes of hippocampal microdynamics as neuromarkers of diverse cognitive computations.
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8
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Issa JB, Radvansky BA, Xuan F, Dombeck DA. Lateral entorhinal cortex subpopulations represent experiential epochs surrounding reward. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:536-546. [PMID: 38272968 PMCID: PMC11097142 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01557-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
During goal-directed navigation, 'what' information, describing the experiences occurring in periods surrounding a reward, can be combined with spatial 'where' information to guide behavior and form episodic memories. This integrative process likely occurs in the hippocampus, which receives spatial information from the medial entorhinal cortex; however, the source of the 'what' information is largely unknown. Here, we show that mouse lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) represents key experiential epochs during reward-based navigation tasks. We discover separate populations of neurons that signal goal approach and goal departure and a third population signaling reward consumption. When reward location is moved, these populations immediately shift their respective representations of each experiential epoch relative to reward, while optogenetic inhibition of LEC disrupts learning the new reward location. Therefore, the LEC contains a stable code of experiential epochs surrounding and including reward consumption, providing reward-centric information to contextualize the spatial information carried by the medial entorhinal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- John B Issa
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Brad A Radvansky
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Feng Xuan
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Daniel A Dombeck
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
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9
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Malone TJ, Tien NW, Ma Y, Cui L, Lyu S, Wang G, Nguyen D, Zhang K, Myroshnychenko MV, Tyan J, Gordon JA, Kupferschmidt DA, Gu Y. A consistent map in the medial entorhinal cortex supports spatial memory. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1457. [PMID: 38368457 PMCID: PMC10874432 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45853-4] [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: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) is hypothesized to function as a cognitive map for memory-guided navigation. How this map develops during learning and influences memory remains unclear. By imaging MEC calcium dynamics while mice successfully learned a novel virtual environment over ten days, we discovered that the dynamics gradually became more spatially consistent and then stabilized. Additionally, grid cells in the MEC not only exhibited improved spatial tuning consistency, but also maintained stable phase relationships, suggesting a network mechanism involving synaptic plasticity and rigid recurrent connectivity to shape grid cell activity during learning. Increased c-Fos expression in the MEC in novel environments further supports the induction of synaptic plasticity. Unsuccessful learning lacked these activity features, indicating that a consistent map is specific for effective spatial memory. Finally, optogenetically disrupting spatial consistency of the map impaired memory-guided navigation in a well-learned environment. Thus, we demonstrate that the establishment of a spatially consistent MEC map across learning both correlates with, and is necessary for, successful spatial memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor J Malone
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Nai-Wen Tien
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Yan Ma
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Lian Cui
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Shangru Lyu
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Garret Wang
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Duc Nguyen
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Center of Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kai Zhang
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Maxym V Myroshnychenko
- Integrative Neuroscience Section, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Jean Tyan
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Joshua A Gordon
- Integrative Neuroscience Section, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Office of the Director, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - David A Kupferschmidt
- Integrative Neuroscience Section, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Yi Gu
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
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10
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Rebecca R, Ascoli GA, Sutton NM, Dannenberg H. Spatial periodicity in grid cell firing is explained by a neural sequence code of 2-D trajectories. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.05.30.542747. [PMID: 37398455 PMCID: PMC10312530 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.30.542747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Spatial periodicity in grid cell firing has been interpreted as a neural metric for space providing animals with a coordinate system in navigating physical and mental spaces. However, the specific computational problem being solved by grid cells has remained elusive. Here, we provide mathematical proof that spatial periodicity in grid cell firing is the only possible solution to a neural sequence code of 2-D trajectories and that the hexagonal firing pattern of grid cells is the most parsimonious solution to such a sequence code. We thereby provide a teleological cause for the existence of grid cells and reveal the underlying nature of the global geometric organization in grid maps as a direct consequence of a simple local sequence code. A sequence code by grid cells provides intuitive explanations for many previously puzzling experimental observations and may transform our thinking about grid cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- R.G. Rebecca
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030
| | - Giorgio A. Ascoli
- Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030
| | - Nate M. Sutton
- Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030
| | - Holger Dannenberg
- Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030
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11
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Gonzalez A, Giocomo LM. Parahippocampal neurons encode task-relevant information for goal-directed navigation. eLife 2024; 12:RP85646. [PMID: 38363198 PMCID: PMC10942598 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85646] [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] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
A behavioral strategy crucial to survival is directed navigation to a goal, such as a food or home location. One potential neural substrate for supporting goal-directed navigation is the parahippocampus, which contains neurons that represent an animal's position, orientation, and movement through the world, and that change their firing activity to encode behaviorally relevant variables such as reward. However, little prior work on the parahippocampus has considered how neurons encode variables during goal-directed navigation in environments that dynamically change. Here, we recorded single units from rat parahippocampal cortex while subjects performed a goal-directed task. The maze dynamically changed goal-locations via a visual cue on a trial-to-trial basis, requiring subjects to use cue-location associations to receive reward. We observed a mismatch-like signal, with elevated neural activity on incorrect trials, leading to rate-remapping. The strength of this remapping correlated with task performance. Recordings during open-field foraging allowed us to functionally define navigational coding for a subset of the neurons recorded in the maze. This approach revealed that head-direction coding units remapped more than other functional-defined units. Taken together, this work thus raises the possibility that during goal-directed navigation, parahippocampal neurons encode error information reflective of an animal's behavioral performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Gonzalez
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordUnited States
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordUnited States
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12
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Nitsch A, Garvert MM, Bellmund JLS, Schuck NW, Doeller CF. Grid-like entorhinal representation of an abstract value space during prospective decision making. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1198. [PMID: 38336756 PMCID: PMC10858181 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45127-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
How valuable a choice option is often changes over time, making the prediction of value changes an important challenge for decision making. Prior studies identified a cognitive map in the hippocampal-entorhinal system that encodes relationships between states and enables prediction of future states, but does not inherently convey value during prospective decision making. In this fMRI study, participants predicted changing values of choice options in a sequence, forming a trajectory through an abstract two-dimensional value space. During this task, the entorhinal cortex exhibited a grid-like representation with an orientation aligned to the axis through the value space most informative for choices. A network of brain regions, including ventromedial prefrontal cortex, tracked the prospective value difference between options. These findings suggest that the entorhinal grid system supports the prediction of future values by representing a cognitive map, which might be used to generate lower-dimensional value signals to guide prospective decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Nitsch
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Mona M Garvert
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck Research Group NeuroCode, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jacob L S Bellmund
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicolas W Schuck
- Max Planck Research Group NeuroCode, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christian F Doeller
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Centre for Neural Computation, The Egil and Pauline Braathen and Fred Kavli Centre for Cortical Microcircuits, Jebsen Centre for Alzheimer's Disease, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Psychology, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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13
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Sosa M, Plitt MH, Giocomo LM. Hippocampal sequences span experience relative to rewards. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.12.27.573490. [PMID: 38234842 PMCID: PMC10793396 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.27.573490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Hippocampal place cells fire in sequences that span spatial environments and non-spatial modalities, suggesting that hippocampal activity can anchor to the most behaviorally salient aspects of experience. As reward is a highly salient event, we hypothesized that sequences of hippocampal activity can anchor to rewards. To test this, we performed two-photon imaging of hippocampal CA1 neurons as mice navigated virtual environments with changing hidden reward locations. When the reward moved, the firing fields of a subpopulation of cells moved to the same relative position with respect to reward, constructing a sequence of reward-relative cells that spanned the entire task structure. The density of these reward-relative sequences increased with task experience as additional neurons were recruited to the reward-relative population. Conversely, a largely separate subpopulation maintained a spatially-based place code. These findings thus reveal separate hippocampal ensembles can flexibly encode multiple behaviorally salient reference frames, reflecting the structure of the experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marielena Sosa
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine; Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Mark H. Plitt
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine; Stanford, CA, USA
- Present address: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley; Berkeley, 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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Chen D, Axmacher N, Wang L. Grid codes underlie multiple cognitive maps in the human brain. Prog Neurobiol 2024; 233:102569. [PMID: 38232782 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2024.102569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Grid cells fire at multiple positions that organize the vertices of equilateral triangles tiling a 2D space and are well studied in rodents. The last decade witnessed rapid progress in two other research lines on grid codes-empirical studies on distributed human grid-like representations in physical and multiple non-physical spaces, and cognitive computational models addressing the function of grid cells based on principles of efficient and predictive coding. Here, we review the progress in these fields and integrate these lines into a systematic organization. We also discuss the coordinate mechanisms of grid codes in the human entorhinal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex and their role in neurological and psychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, 100101, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101, Beijing, China
| | - Nikolai Axmacher
- Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Liang Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, 100101, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101, Beijing, China.
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15
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Bowler JC, Losonczy A. Direct cortical inputs to hippocampal area CA1 transmit complementary signals for goal-directed navigation. Neuron 2023; 111:4071-4085.e6. [PMID: 37816349 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
The subregions of the entorhinal cortex (EC) are conventionally thought to compute dichotomous representations for spatial processing, with the medial EC (MEC) providing a global spatial map and the lateral EC (LEC) encoding specific sensory details of experience. Yet, little is known about the specific types of information EC transmits downstream to the hippocampus. Here, we exploit in vivo sub-cellular imaging to record from EC axons in CA1 while mice perform navigational tasks in virtual reality (VR). We uncover distinct yet overlapping representations of task, location, and context in both MEC and LEC axons. MEC transmitted highly location- and context-specific codes; LEC inputs were biased by ongoing navigational goals. However, during tasks with reliable reward locations, the animals' position could be accurately decoded from either subregion. Our results revise the prevailing dogma about EC information processing, revealing novel ways spatial and non-spatial information is routed and combined upstream of the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Bowler
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Attila Losonczy
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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16
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Viganò S, Bayramova R, Doeller CF, Bottini R. Mental search of concepts is supported by egocentric vector representations and restructured grid maps. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8132. [PMID: 38065931 PMCID: PMC10709434 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43831-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The human hippocampal-entorhinal system is known to represent both spatial locations and abstract concepts in memory in the form of allocentric cognitive maps. Using fMRI, we show that the human parietal cortex evokes complementary egocentric representations in conceptual spaces during goal-directed mental search, akin to those observable during physical navigation to determine where a goal is located relative to oneself (e.g., to our left or to our right). Concurrently, the strength of the grid-like signal, a neural signature of allocentric cognitive maps in entorhinal, prefrontal, and parietal cortices, is modulated as a function of goal proximity in conceptual space. These brain mechanisms might support flexible and parallel readout of where target conceptual information is stored in memory, capitalizing on complementary reference frames.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Viganò
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Rena Bayramova
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christian F Doeller
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Centre for Neural Computation, The Egil and Pauline Braathen and Fred Kavli Centre for Cortical Microcircuits, Jebsen Centre for Alzheimer's Disease, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute of Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roberto Bottini
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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17
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Abstract
Knowing where you are and where you go is a prerequisite for planning a goal-directed journey. The discovery of spatially tuned neurons in the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortices provides a mechanism by which the brain pinpoints an animal’s own position in an environment. By contrast, how the brain encodes a remote navigational goal remained largely obscure until recently. In this review, we discuss algorithmic challenges and requirements for the brain to form a representation of a remote navigational goal at which an animal is not present. We then highlight a line of evidence that neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) represent a goal location persistently while an animal navigates to this destination. Finally, we propose a new perspective of navigation research opened by this recently reported brain’s goal map.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raunak Basu
- Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Hiroshi T. Ito
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt am Main 60438, Germany
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18
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Gönner L, Baeuchl C, Glöckner F, Riedel P, Smolka MN, Li SC. Levodopa suppresses grid-like activity and impairs spatial learning in novel environments in healthy young adults. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:11247-11256. [PMID: 37782941 PMCID: PMC10690865 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Accumulated evidence from animal studies suggests a role for the neuromodulator dopamine in memory processes, particularly under conditions of novelty or reward. Our understanding of how dopaminergic modulation impacts spatial representations and spatial memory in humans remains limited. Recent evidence suggests age-specific regulation effects of dopamine pharmacology on activity in the medial temporal lobe, a key region for spatial memory. To which degree this modulation affects spatially patterned medial temporal representations remains unclear. We reanalyzed recent data from a pharmacological dopamine challenge during functional brain imaging combined with a virtual object-location memory paradigm to assess the effect of Levodopa, a dopamine precursor, on grid-like activity in the entorhinal cortex. We found that Levodopa impaired grid cell-like representations in a sample of young adults (n = 55, age = 26-35 years) in a novel environment, accompanied by reduced spatial memory performance. We observed no such impairment when Levodopa was delivered to participants who had prior experience with the task. These results are consistent with a role of dopamine in modulating the encoding of novel spatial experiences. Our results suggest that dopamine signaling may play a larger role in shaping ongoing spatial representations than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenz Gönner
- Faculty of Psychology, Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Baeuchl
- Faculty of Psychology, Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Franka Glöckner
- Faculty of Psychology, Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Philipp Riedel
- Department of Psychiatry, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Shu-Chen Li
- Faculty of Psychology, Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
- Centre for Tactile Internet With Human-in-the-Loop, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
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19
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Issa JB, Radvansky BA, Xuan F, Dombeck DA. Lateral entorhinal cortex subpopulations represent experiential epochs surrounding reward. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.09.561557. [PMID: 37873482 PMCID: PMC10592707 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.09.561557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
During goal-directed navigation, "what" information, which describes the experiences occurring in periods surrounding a reward, can be combined with spatial "where" information to guide behavior and form episodic memories1,2. This integrative process is thought to occur in the hippocampus3, which receives spatial information from the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC)4; however, the source of the "what" information and how it is represented is largely unknown. Here, by establishing a novel imaging method, we show that the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) of mice represents key experiential epochs during a reward-based navigation task. We discover a population of neurons that signals goal approach and a separate population of neurons that signals goal departure. A third population of neurons signals reward consumption. When reward location is moved, these populations immediately shift their respective representations of each experiential epoch relative to reward, while optogenetic inhibition of LEC disrupts learning of the new reward location. Together, these results indicate the LEC provides a stable code of experiential epochs surrounding and including reward consumption, providing reward-centric information to contextualize the spatial information carried by the MEC. Such parallel representations are well-suited for generating episodic memories of rewarding experiences and guiding flexible and efficient goal-directed navigation5-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- John B. Issa
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60608, USA
| | - Brad A. Radvansky
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60608, USA
| | - Feng Xuan
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60608, USA
| | - Daniel A. Dombeck
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60608, USA
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20
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Malone TJ, Tien NW, Ma Y, Cui L, Lyu S, Wang G, Nguyen D, Zhang K, Myroshnychenko MV, Tyan J, Gordon JA, Kupferschmidt DA, Gu Y. A consistent map in the medial entorhinal cortex supports spatial memory. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.30.560254. [PMID: 37986767 PMCID: PMC10659391 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.30.560254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) is hypothesized to function as a cognitive map for memory-guided navigation. How this map develops during learning and influences memory remains unclear. By imaging MEC calcium dynamics while mice successfully learned a novel virtual environment over ten days, we discovered that the dynamics gradually became more spatially consistent and then stabilized. Additionally, grid cells in the MEC not only exhibited improved spatial tuning consistency, but also maintained stable phase relationships, suggesting a network mechanism involving synaptic plasticity and rigid recurrent connectivity to shape grid cell activity during learning. Increased c-Fos expression in the MEC in novel environments further supports the induction of synaptic plasticity. Unsuccessful learning lacked these activity features, indicating that a consistent map is specific for effective spatial memory. Finally, optogenetically disrupting spatial consistency of the map impaired memory-guided navigation in a well-learned environment. Thus, we demonstrate that the establishment of a spatially consistent MEC map across learning both correlates with, and is necessary for, successful spatial memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor J. Malone
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Nai-Wen Tien
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Current address: Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Yan Ma
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Lian Cui
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Shangru Lyu
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Garret Wang
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Duc Nguyen
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Current address: Center of Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kai Zhang
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Maxym V. Myroshnychenko
- Integrative Neuroscience Section, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Jean Tyan
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Joshua A. Gordon
- Integrative Neuroscience Section, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Office of the Director, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - David A. Kupferschmidt
- Integrative Neuroscience Section, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yi Gu
- Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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21
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Kloc ML, Chen Y, Daglian JM, Holmes GL, Baram TZ, Barry JM. Spatial learning impairments and discoordination of entorhinal-hippocampal circuit coding following prolonged febrile seizures. Hippocampus 2023; 33:970-992. [PMID: 37096324 PMCID: PMC10529121 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
How the development and function of neural circuits governing learning and memory are affected by insults in early life remains poorly understood. The goal of this study was to identify putative changes in cortico-hippocampal signaling mechanisms that could lead to learning and memory deficits in a clinically relevant developmental pathophysiological rodent model, Febrile status epilepticus (FSE). FSE in both pediatric cases and the experimental animal model, is associated with enduring physiological alterations of the hippocampal circuit and cognitive impairment. Here, we deconstruct hippocampal circuit throughput by inducing slow theta oscillations in rats under urethane anesthesia and isolating the dendritic compartments of CA1 and dentate gyrus subfields, their reception of medial and lateral entorhinal cortex inputs, and the efficacy of signal propagation to each somatic cell layer. We identify FSE-induced theta-gamma decoupling at cortical synaptic input pathways and altered signal phase coherence along the CA1 and dentate gyrus somatodendritic axes. Moreover, increased DG synaptic activity levels are predictive of poor cognitive outcomes. We propose that these alterations in cortico-hippocampal coordination interfere with the ability of hippocampal dendrites to receive, decode and propagate neocortical inputs. If this frequency-specific syntax is necessary for cortico-hippocampal coordination and spatial learning and memory, its loss could be a mechanism for FSE cognitive comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle L. Kloc
- Epilepsy Cognition and Development Group, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | - Yuncai Chen
- Departments of Pediatrics, University California-Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University California-Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Jennifer M. Daglian
- Departments of Pediatrics, University California-Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Gregory L. Holmes
- Epilepsy Cognition and Development Group, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | - Tallie Z. Baram
- Departments of Pediatrics, University California-Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University California-Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
- Departments of Neurology, University California-Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Jeremy M. Barry
- Epilepsy Cognition and Development Group, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont, USA
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22
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Low IIC, Giocomo LM, Williams AH. Remapping in a recurrent neural network model of navigation and context inference. eLife 2023; 12:RP86943. [PMID: 37410093 PMCID: PMC10328512 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurons in navigational brain regions provide information about position, orientation, and speed relative to environmental landmarks. These cells also change their firing patterns ('remap') in response to changing contextual factors such as environmental cues, task conditions, and behavioral states, which influence neural activity throughout the brain. How can navigational circuits preserve their local computations while responding to global context changes? To investigate this question, we trained recurrent neural network models to track position in simple environments while at the same time reporting transiently-cued context changes. We show that these combined task constraints (navigation and context inference) produce activity patterns that are qualitatively similar to population-wide remapping in the entorhinal cortex, a navigational brain region. Furthermore, the models identify a solution that generalizes to more complex navigation and inference tasks. We thus provide a simple, general, and experimentally-grounded model of remapping as one neural circuit performing both navigation and context inference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel IC Low
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
| | - Alex H Williams
- Center for Computational Neuroscience, Flatiron InstituteNew YorkUnited States
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
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23
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Chaudhuri-Vayalambrone P, Rule ME, Bauza M, Krstulovic M, Kerekes P, Burton S, O'Leary T, Krupic J. Simultaneous representation of multiple time horizons by entorhinal grid cells and CA1 place cells. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112716. [PMID: 37402167 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Grid cells and place cells represent the spatiotemporal continuum of an animal's past, present, and future locations. However, their spatiotemporal relationship is unclear. Here, we co-record grid and place cells in freely foraging rats. We show that average time shifts in grid cells tend to be prospective and are proportional to their spatial scale, providing a nearly instantaneous readout of a spectrum of progressively increasing time horizons ranging hundreds of milliseconds. Average time shifts of place cells are generally larger compared to grid cells and also increase with place field sizes. Moreover, time horizons display nonlinear modulation by the animal's trajectories in relation to the local boundaries and locomotion cues. Finally, long and short time horizons occur at different parts of the theta cycle, which may facilitate their readout. Together, these findings suggest that population activity of grid and place cells may represent local trajectories essential for goal-directed navigation and planning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Marius Bauza
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behavior, University College London, London W1T4JG, UK; Cambridge Phenotyping Limited, London NW1 9ND, UK
| | - Marino Krstulovic
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK
| | - Pauline Kerekes
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK
| | - Stephen Burton
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behavior, University College London, London W1T4JG, UK
| | - Timothy O'Leary
- Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
| | - Julija Krupic
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK; Cambridge Phenotyping Limited, London NW1 9ND, UK.
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24
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Ginosar G, Aljadeff J, Las L, Derdikman D, Ulanovsky N. Are grid cells used for navigation? On local metrics, subjective spaces, and black holes. Neuron 2023; 111:1858-1875. [PMID: 37044087 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.03.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
The symmetric, lattice-like spatial pattern of grid-cell activity is thought to provide a neuronal global metric for space. This view is compatible with grid cells recorded in empty boxes but inconsistent with data from more naturalistic settings. We review evidence arguing against the global-metric notion, including the distortion and disintegration of the grid pattern in complex and three-dimensional environments. We argue that deviations from lattice symmetry are key for understanding grid-cell function. We propose three possible functions for grid cells, which treat real-world grid distortions as a feature rather than a bug. First, grid cells may constitute a local metric for proximal space rather than a global metric for all space. Second, grid cells could form a metric for subjective action-relevant space rather than physical space. Third, distortions may represent salient locations. Finally, we discuss mechanisms that can underlie these functions. These ideas may transform our thinking about grid cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gily Ginosar
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Johnatan Aljadeff
- Department of Neurobiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Liora Las
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Dori Derdikman
- Department of Neuroscience, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion, Haifa 31096, Israel.
| | - Nachum Ulanovsky
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
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25
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Applegate MC, Gutnichenko KS, Mackevicius EL, Aronov D. An entorhinal-like region in food-caching birds. Curr Biol 2023; 33:2465-2477.e7. [PMID: 37295426 PMCID: PMC10329498 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.05.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian entorhinal cortex routes inputs from diverse sources into the hippocampus. This information is mixed and expressed in the activity of many specialized entorhinal cell types, which are considered indispensable for hippocampal function. However, functionally similar hippocampi exist even in non-mammals that lack an obvious entorhinal cortex or, generally, any layered cortex. To address this dilemma, we mapped extrinsic hippocampal connections in chickadees, whose hippocampi are used for remembering numerous food caches. We found a well-delineated structure in these birds that is topologically similar to the entorhinal cortex and interfaces between the hippocampus and other pallial regions. Recordings of this structure revealed entorhinal-like activity, including border and multi-field grid-like cells. These cells were localized to the subregion predicted by anatomical mapping to match the dorsomedial entorhinal cortex. Our findings uncover an anatomical and physiological equivalence of vastly different brains, suggesting a fundamental nature of entorhinal-like computations for hippocampal function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marissa C Applegate
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 3227 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Konstantin S Gutnichenko
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 3227 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Emily L Mackevicius
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 3227 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Dmitriy Aronov
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 3227 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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26
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Sherrill KR, Molitor RJ, Karagoz AB, Atyam M, Mack ML, Preston AR. Generalization of cognitive maps across space and time. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:7971-7992. [PMID: 36977625 PMCID: PMC10492577 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Prominent theories posit that associative memory structures, known as cognitive maps, support flexible generalization of knowledge across cognitive domains. Here, we evince a representational account of cognitive map flexibility by quantifying how spatial knowledge formed one day was used predictively in a temporal sequence task 24 hours later, biasing both behavior and neural response. Participants learned novel object locations in distinct virtual environments. After learning, hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) represented a cognitive map, wherein neural patterns became more similar for same-environment objects and more discriminable for different-environment objects. Twenty-four hours later, participants rated their preference for objects from spatial learning; objects were presented in sequential triplets from either the same or different environments. We found that preference response times were slower when participants transitioned between same- and different-environment triplets. Furthermore, hippocampal spatial map coherence tracked behavioral slowing at the implicit sequence transitions. At transitions, predictive reinstatement of virtual environments decreased in anterior parahippocampal cortex. In the absence of such predictive reinstatement after sequence transitions, hippocampus and vmPFC responses increased, accompanied by hippocampal-vmPFC functional decoupling that predicted individuals' behavioral slowing after a transition. Collectively, these findings reveal how expectations derived from spatial experience generalize to support temporal prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine R Sherrill
- Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Robert J Molitor
- Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Ata B Karagoz
- Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Manasa Atyam
- Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Michael L Mack
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1E6, Canada
| | - Alison R Preston
- Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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27
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Duszkiewicz AJ, Rossato JI, Moreno A, Takeuchi T, Yamasaki M, Genzel L, Spooner P, Canals S, Morris RGM. Execution of new trajectories toward a stable goal without a functional hippocampus. Hippocampus 2023; 33:769-786. [PMID: 36798045 PMCID: PMC10946713 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
The hippocampus is a critical component of a mammalian spatial navigation system, with the firing sequences of hippocampal place cells during sleep or immobility constituting a "replay" of an animal's past trajectories. A novel spatial navigation task recently revealed that such "replay" sequences of place fields can also prospectively map onto imminent new paths to a goal that occupies a stable location during each session. It was hypothesized that such "prospective replay" sequences may play a causal role in goal-directed navigation. In the present study, we query this putative causal role in finding only minimal effects of muscimol-induced inactivation of the dorsal and intermediate hippocampus on the same spatial navigation task. The concentration of muscimol used demonstrably inhibited hippocampal cell firing in vivo and caused a severe deficit in a hippocampal-dependent "episodic-like" spatial memory task in a watermaze. These findings call into question whether "prospective replay" of an imminent and direct path is actually necessary for its execution in certain navigational tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian J. Duszkiewicz
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Edinburgh NeuroscienceUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of StirlingStirlingScotlandUK
| | - Janine I. Rossato
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Edinburgh NeuroscienceUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Department of PhysiologyUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do NorteRio Grande do NorteBrazil
| | - Andrea Moreno
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Edinburgh NeuroscienceUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Instituto de Neurociencias, CSIC‐UMHSan Juan de AlicanteSpain
- Department of Biomedicine, Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE)Aarhus UniversityAarhus CDenmark
| | - Tomonori Takeuchi
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Edinburgh NeuroscienceUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Department of Biomedicine, Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE)Aarhus UniversityAarhus CDenmark
| | - Miwako Yamasaki
- Department of Anatomy, Graduate School of MedicineHokkaido UniversitySapporoJapan
| | - Lisa Genzel
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Edinburgh NeuroscienceUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and BehaviourRadboud University and RadboudumcNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Patrick Spooner
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Edinburgh NeuroscienceUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Santiago Canals
- Instituto de Neurociencias, CSIC‐UMHSan Juan de AlicanteSpain
| | - Richard G. M. Morris
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Edinburgh NeuroscienceUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Instituto de Neurociencias, CSIC‐UMHSan Juan de AlicanteSpain
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28
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Crivelli-Decker J, Clarke A, Park SA, Huffman DJ, Boorman ED, Ranganath C. Goal-oriented representations in the human hippocampus during planning and navigation. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2946. [PMID: 37221176 PMCID: PMC10206082 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35967-6] [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: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent work in cognitive and systems neuroscience has suggested that the hippocampus might support planning, imagination, and navigation by forming cognitive maps that capture the abstract structure of physical spaces, tasks, and situations. Navigation involves disambiguating similar contexts, and the planning and execution of a sequence of decisions to reach a goal. Here, we examine hippocampal activity patterns in humans during a goal-directed navigation task to investigate how contextual and goal information are incorporated in the construction and execution of navigational plans. During planning, hippocampal pattern similarity is enhanced across routes that share a context and a goal. During navigation, we observe prospective activation in the hippocampus that reflects the retrieval of pattern information related to a key-decision point. These results suggest that, rather than simply representing overlapping associations or state transitions, hippocampal activity patterns are shaped by context and goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Crivelli-Decker
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
| | - Alex Clarke
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Seongmin A Park
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Derek J Huffman
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Colby College, Waterville, ME, USA
| | - Erie D Boorman
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Charan Ranganath
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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29
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Petter EA, Fallon IP, Hughes RN, Watson GDR, Meck WH, Ulloa Severino FP, Yin HH. Elucidating a locus coeruleus-dentate gyrus dopamine pathway for operant reinforcement. eLife 2023; 12:e83600. [PMID: 37083584 PMCID: PMC10162798 DOI: 10.7554/elife.83600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals can learn to repeat behaviors to earn desired rewards, a process commonly known as reinforcement learning. While previous work has implicated the ascending dopaminergic projections to the basal ganglia in reinforcement learning, little is known about the role of the hippocampus. Here, we report that a specific population of hippocampal neurons and their dopaminergic innervation contribute to operant self-stimulation. These neurons are located in the dentate gyrus, receive dopaminergic projections from the locus coeruleus, and express D1 dopamine receptors. Activation of D1 + dentate neurons is sufficient for self-stimulation: mice will press a lever to earn optogenetic activation of these neurons. A similar effect is also observed with selective activation of the locus coeruleus projections to the dentate gyrus, and blocked by D1 receptor antagonism. Calcium imaging of D1 + dentate neurons revealed significant activity at the time of action selection, but not during passive reward delivery. These results reveal the role of dopaminergic innervation of the dentate gyrus in supporting operant reinforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elijah A Petter
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Isabella P Fallon
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Ryan N Hughes
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Glenn DR Watson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Warren H Meck
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Francesco Paolo Ulloa Severino
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of MedicineDurhamUnited States
| | - Henry H Yin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of MedicineDurhamUnited States
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30
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Quian Quiroga R. An integrative view of human hippocampal function: Differences with other species and capacity considerations. Hippocampus 2023; 33:616-634. [PMID: 36965048 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2023]
Abstract
We describe an integrative model that encodes associations between related concepts in the human hippocampal formation, constituting the skeleton of episodic memories. The model, based on partially overlapping assemblies of "concept cells," contrast markedly with the well-established notion of pattern separation, which relies on conjunctive, context dependent single neuron responses, instead of the invariant, context independent responses found in the human hippocampus. We argue that the model of partially overlapping assemblies is better suited to cope with memory capacity limitations, that the finding of different types of neurons and functions in this area is due to a flexible and temporary use of the extraordinary machinery of the hippocampus to deal with the task at hand, and that only information that is relevant and frequently revisited will consolidate into long-term hippocampal representations, using partially overlapping assemblies. Finally, we propose that concept cells are uniquely human and that they may constitute the neuronal underpinnings of cognitive abilities that are much further developed in humans compared to other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Quian Quiroga
- Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- Department of neurosurgery, clinical neuroscience center, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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31
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Baczkowski BM, Haaker J, Schwabe L. Inferring danger with minimal aversive experience. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:456-467. [PMID: 36941184 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/22/2023]
Abstract
Learning about threats is crucial for survival and fundamentally rests upon Pavlovian conditioning. However, Pavlovian threat learning is largely limited to detecting known (or similar) threats and involves first-hand exposure to danger, which inevitably poses a risk of harm. We discuss how individuals leverage a rich repertoire of mnemonic processes that operate largely in safety and significantly expand our ability to recognize danger beyond Pavlovian threat associations. These processes result in complementary memories - acquired individually or through social interactions - that represent potential threats and the relational structure of our environment. The interplay between these memories allows danger to be inferred rather than directly learned, thereby flexibly protecting us from potential harm in novel situations despite minimal prior aversive experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blazej M Baczkowski
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 5, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jan Haaker
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lars Schwabe
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 5, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
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32
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Aery Jones EA, Giocomo LM. Neural ensembles in navigation: From single cells to population codes. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2023; 78:102665. [PMID: 36542882 PMCID: PMC9845194 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The brain can represent behaviorally relevant information through the firing of individual neurons as well as the coordinated firing of ensembles of neurons. Neurons in the hippocampus and associated cortical regions participate in a variety of types of ensembles to support navigation. These ensemble types include single cell codes, population codes, time-compressed sequences, behavioral sequences, and engrams. We present the physiological basis and behavioral relevance of ensemble firing. We discuss how these traditional definitions of ensembles can constrain or expand potential analyses due to the underlying assumptions and abstractions made. We highlight how coding can change at the ensemble level while underlying single cell codes remain intact. Finally, we present how ensemble definitions could be broadened to better understand the full complexity of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A Aery Jones
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
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33
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Linton P, Morgan MJ, Read JCA, Vishwanath D, Creem-Regehr SH, Domini F. New Approaches to 3D Vision. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210443. [PMID: 36511413 PMCID: PMC9745878 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
New approaches to 3D vision are enabling new advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles, a better understanding of how animals navigate the 3D world, and new insights into human perception in virtual and augmented reality. Whilst traditional approaches to 3D vision in computer vision (SLAM: simultaneous localization and mapping), animal navigation (cognitive maps), and human vision (optimal cue integration) start from the assumption that the aim of 3D vision is to provide an accurate 3D model of the world, the new approaches to 3D vision explored in this issue challenge this assumption. Instead, they investigate the possibility that computer vision, animal navigation, and human vision can rely on partial or distorted models or no model at all. This issue also highlights the implications for artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, human perception in virtual and augmented reality, and the treatment of visual disorders, all of which are explored by individual articles. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'New approaches to 3D vision'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Linton
- Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience, Center for Science and Society, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Visual Inference Lab, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Michael J. Morgan
- Department of Optometry and Visual Sciences, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - Jenny C. A. Read
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Dhanraj Vishwanath
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, UK
| | | | - Fulvio Domini
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912-9067, USA
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34
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Low II, Giocomo LM, Williams AH. Remapping in a recurrent neural network model of navigation and context inference. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.25.525596. [PMID: 36747825 PMCID: PMC9900889 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.25.525596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Neurons in navigational brain regions provide information about position, orientation, and speed relative to environmental landmarks. These cells also change their firing patterns ("remap") in response to changing contextual factors such as environmental cues, task conditions, and behavioral state, which influence neural activity throughout the brain. How can navigational circuits preserve their local computations while responding to global context changes? To investigate this question, we trained recurrent neural network models to track position in simple environments while at the same time reporting transiently-cued context changes. We show that these combined task constraints (navigation and context inference) produce activity patterns that are qualitatively similar to population-wide remapping in the entorhinal cortex, a navigational brain region. Furthermore, the models identify a solution that generalizes to more complex navigation and inference tasks. We thus provide a simple, general, and experimentally-grounded model of remapping as one neural circuit performing both navigation and context inference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel I.C. Low
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University,Center for Computational Neuroscience, Flatiron Institute,Correspondence to: ,
| | | | - Alex H. Williams
- Center for Computational Neuroscience, Flatiron Institute,Center for Neural Science, New York University,Correspondence to: ,
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35
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Applegate MC, Gutnichenko KS, Mackevicius EL, Aronov D. An entorhinal-like region in food-caching birds. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.05.522940. [PMID: 36711539 PMCID: PMC9881956 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.05.522940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian entorhinal cortex routes inputs from diverse sources into the hippocampus. This information is mixed and expressed in the activity of many specialized entorhinal cell types, which are considered indispensable for hippocampal function. However, functionally similar hippocampi exist even in non-mammals that lack an obvious entorhinal cortex, or generally any layered cortex. To address this dilemma, we mapped extrinsic hippocampal connections in chickadees, whose hippocampi are used for remembering numerous food caches. We found a well-delineated structure in these birds that is topologically similar to the entorhinal cortex and interfaces between the hippocampus and other pallial regions. Recordings of this structure revealed entorhinal-like activity, including border and multi-field grid-like cells. These cells were localized to the subregion predicted by anatomical mapping to match the dorsomedial entorhinal cortex. Our findings uncover an anatomical and physiological equivalence of vastly different brains, suggesting a fundamental nature of entorhinal-like computations for hippocampal function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Dmitriy Aronov
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University,Corresponding author:
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36
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Sorscher B, Mel GC, Ocko SA, Giocomo LM, Ganguli S. A unified theory for the computational and mechanistic origins of grid cells. Neuron 2023; 111:121-137.e13. [PMID: 36306779 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.10.003] [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: 11/25/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of entorhinal grid cells has generated considerable interest in how and why hexagonal firing fields might emerge in a generic manner from neural circuits, and what their computational significance might be. Here, we forge a link between the problem of path integration and the existence of hexagonal grids, by demonstrating that such grids arise in neural networks trained to path integrate under simple biologically plausible constraints. Moreover, we develop a unifying theory for why hexagonal grids are ubiquitous in path-integrator circuits. Such trained networks also yield powerful mechanistic hypotheses, exhibiting realistic levels of biological variability not captured by hand-designed models. We furthermore develop methods to analyze the connectome and activity maps of our networks to elucidate fundamental mechanisms underlying path integration. These methods provide a road map to go from connectomic and physiological measurements to conceptual understanding in a manner that could generalize to other settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Sorscher
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Gabriel C Mel
- Neurosciences PhD Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Samuel A Ocko
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Surya Ganguli
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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37
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Archer K, Catenacci Volpi N, Bröker F, Polani D. A space of goals: the cognitive geometry of informationally bounded agents. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211800. [PMID: 36483761 PMCID: PMC9727502 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Traditionally, Euclidean geometry is treated by scientists as a priori and objective. However, when we take the position of an agent, the problem of selecting a best route should also factor in the abilities of the agent, its embodiment and particularly its cognitive effort. In this paper, we consider geometry in terms of travel between states within a world by incorporating information processing costs with the appropriate spatial distances. This induces a geometry that increasingly differs from the original geometry of the given world as information costs become increasingly important. We visualize this 'cognitive geometry' by projecting it onto two- and three-dimensional spaces showing distinct distortions reflecting the emergence of epistemic and information-saving strategies as well as pivot states. The analogies between traditional cost-based geometries and those induced by additional informational costs invite a generalization of the notion of geodesics as cheapest routes towards the notion of infodesics. In this perspective, the concept of infodesics is inspired by the property of geodesics that, travelling from a given start location to a given goal location along a geodesic, not only the goal, but all points along the way are visited at optimal cost from the start.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Archer
- Adaptive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK
| | - Nicola Catenacci Volpi
- Adaptive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK
| | - Franziska Bröker
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London, UK
- Computational Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Polani
- Adaptive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK
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38
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Uncovering the Hippocampal Mechanisms Underpinning Spatial Learning and Flexible Navigation. J Neurosci 2022; 42:8915-8917. [PMID: 36450594 PMCID: PMC9732818 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1400-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
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39
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Sun Y, Giocomo LM. Neural circuit dynamics of drug-context associative learning in the mouse hippocampus. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6721. [PMID: 36344498 PMCID: PMC9640587 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34114-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The environmental context associated with previous drug consumption is a potent trigger for drug relapse. However, the mechanism by which neural representations of context are modified to incorporate information associated with drugs of abuse remains unknown. Using longitudinal calcium imaging in freely behaving mice, we find that unlike the associative learning of natural reward, drug-context associations for psychostimulants and opioids are encoded in a specific subset of hippocampal neurons. After drug conditioning, these neurons weakened their spatial coding for the non-drug paired context, resulting in an orthogonal representation for the drug versus non-drug context that was predictive of drug-seeking behavior. Furthermore, these neurons were selected based on drug-spatial experience and were exclusively tuned to animals' allocentric position. Together, this work reveals how drugs of abuse alter the hippocampal circuit to encode drug-context associations and points to the possibility of targeting drug-associated memory in the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjun Sun
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Lisa M Giocomo
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
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40
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Khona M, Fiete IR. Attractor and integrator networks in the brain. Nat Rev Neurosci 2022; 23:744-766. [DOI: 10.1038/s41583-022-00642-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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41
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Entorhinal cortex directs learning-related changes in CA1 representations. Nature 2022; 611:554-562. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05378-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
AbstractLearning-related changes in brain activity are thought to underlie adaptive behaviours1,2. For instance, the learning of a reward site by rodents requires the development of an over-representation of that location in the hippocampus3–6. How this learning-related change occurs remains unknown. Here we recorded hippocampal CA1 population activity as mice learned a reward location on a linear treadmill. Physiological and pharmacological evidence suggests that the adaptive over-representation required behavioural timescale synaptic plasticity (BTSP)7. BTSP is known to be driven by dendritic voltage signals that we proposed were initiated by input from entorhinal cortex layer 3 (EC3). Accordingly, the CA1 over-representation was largely removed by optogenetic inhibition of EC3 activity. Recordings from EC3 neurons revealed an activity pattern that could provide an instructive signal directing BTSP to generate the over-representation. Consistent with this function, our observations show that exposure to a second environment possessing a prominent reward-predictive cue resulted in both EC3 activity and CA1 place field density that were more elevated at the cue than at the reward. These data indicate that learning-related changes in the hippocampus are produced by synaptic plasticity directed by an instructive signal from the EC3 that seems to be specifically adapted to the behaviourally relevant features of the environment.
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42
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Aesthetic experience enhances first-person spatial representation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2201540119. [PMID: 36251990 PMCID: PMC9618070 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201540119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Episodic autobiographical memories are characterized by a spatial context and an affective component. But how do affective and spatial aspects interact? Does affect modulate the way we encode the spatial context of events? We investigated how one element of affect, namely aesthetic liking, modulates memory for location, in three online experiments (n = 124, 79, and 80). Participants visited a professionally curated virtual art exhibition. They then relocated previously viewed artworks on the museum map and reported how much they liked them. Across all experiments, liking an artwork was associated with increased ability to recall the wall on which it was hung. The effect was not explained by viewing time and appeared to modulate recognition speed. The liking-wall memory effect remained when participants attended to abstractness, rather than liking, and when testing occurred 24 h after the museum visit. Liking also modulated memory for the room where a work of art was hung, but this effect primarily involved reduced room memory for disliked artworks. Further, the liking-wall memory effect remained after controlling for effects of room memory. Recalling the wall requires recalling one's facing direction, so our findings suggest that positive aesthetic experiences enhance first-person spatial representations. More generally, a first-person component of positive affect transfers to wider spatial representation and facilitates the encoding of locations in a subject-centered reference frame. Affect and spatial representations are therefore important, and linked, elements of sentience and subjectivity. Memories of aesthetic experiences are also spatial memories of how we encountered a work of art. This linkage may have implications for museum design.
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43
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Safron A, Çatal O, Verbelen T. Generalized Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (G-SLAM) as unification framework for natural and artificial intelligences: towards reverse engineering the hippocampal/entorhinal system and principles of high-level cognition. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:787659. [PMID: 36246500 PMCID: PMC9563348 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.787659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) represents a fundamental problem for autonomous embodied systems, for which the hippocampal/entorhinal system (H/E-S) has been optimized over the course of evolution. We have developed a biologically-inspired SLAM architecture based on latent variable generative modeling within the Free Energy Principle and Active Inference (FEP-AI) framework, which affords flexible navigation and planning in mobile robots. We have primarily focused on attempting to reverse engineer H/E-S "design" properties, but here we consider ways in which SLAM principles from robotics may help us better understand nervous systems and emergent minds. After reviewing LatentSLAM and notable features of this control architecture, we consider how the H/E-S may realize these functional properties not only for physical navigation, but also with respect to high-level cognition understood as generalized simultaneous localization and mapping (G-SLAM). We focus on loop-closure, graph-relaxation, and node duplication as particularly impactful architectural features, suggesting these computational phenomena may contribute to understanding cognitive insight (as proto-causal-inference), accommodation (as integration into existing schemas), and assimilation (as category formation). All these operations can similarly be describable in terms of structure/category learning on multiple levels of abstraction. However, here we adopt an ecological rationality perspective, framing H/E-S functions as orchestrating SLAM processes within both concrete and abstract hypothesis spaces. In this navigation/search process, adaptive cognitive equilibration between assimilation and accommodation involves balancing tradeoffs between exploration and exploitation; this dynamic equilibrium may be near optimally realized in FEP-AI, wherein control systems governed by expected free energy objective functions naturally balance model simplicity and accuracy. With respect to structure learning, such a balance would involve constructing models and categories that are neither too inclusive nor exclusive. We propose these (generalized) SLAM phenomena may represent some of the most impactful sources of variation in cognition both within and between individuals, suggesting that modulators of H/E-S functioning may potentially illuminate their adaptive significances as fundamental cybernetic control parameters. Finally, we discuss how understanding H/E-S contributions to G-SLAM may provide a unifying framework for high-level cognition and its potential realization in artificial intelligences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Safron
- Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, United States
| | - Ozan Çatal
- IDLab, Department of Information Technology, Ghent University—imec, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Tim Verbelen
- IDLab, Department of Information Technology, Ghent University—imec, Ghent, Belgium
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44
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Abstract
Learning and interpreting the structure of the environment is an innate feature of biological systems, and is integral to guiding flexible behaviors for evolutionary viability. The concept of a cognitive map has emerged as one of the leading metaphors for these capacities, and unraveling the learning and neural representation of such a map has become a central focus of neuroscience. In recent years, many models have been developed to explain cellular responses in the hippocampus and other brain areas. Because it can be difficult to see how these models differ, how they relate and what each model can contribute, this Review aims to organize these models into a clear ontology. This ontology reveals parallels between existing empirical results, and implies new approaches to understand hippocampal-cortical interactions and beyond.
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45
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Tennant SA, Clark H, Hawes I, Tam WK, Hua J, Yang W, Gerlei KZ, Wood ER, Nolan MF. Spatial representation by ramping activity of neurons in the retrohippocampal cortex. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4451-4464.e7. [PMID: 36099915 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.050] [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: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Neurons in the retrohippocampal cortices play crucial roles in spatial memory. Many retrohippocampal neurons have firing fields that are selectively active at specific locations, with memory for rewarded locations associated with reorganization of these firing fields. Whether this is the sole strategy for representing spatial memories is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that during a spatial memory task retrohippocampal neurons encode location through ramping activity that extends across segments of a linear track approaching and following a reward, with the rewarded location represented by offsets or switches in the slope of the ramping activity. Ramping representations could be maintained independently of trial outcome and cues marking the reward location, indicating that they result from recall of the track structure. When recorded in an open arena, neurons that generated ramping activity during the spatial memory task were more numerous than grid or border cells, with a majority showing spatial firing that did not meet criteria for classification as grid or border representations. Encoding of rewarded locations through offsets and switches in the slope of ramping activity also emerged in recurrent neural network models trained to solve a similar spatial memory task. Impaired performance of model networks following disruption of outputs from ramping neurons is consistent with this coding strategy supporting navigation to recalled locations of behavioral significance. Our results suggest that encoding of learned spaces by retrohippocampal networks employs both discrete firing fields and continuous ramping representations. We hypothesize that retrohippocampal ramping activity mediates readout of learned models for goal-directed navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Tennant
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Harry Clark
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Ian Hawes
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Wing Kin Tam
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Junji Hua
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Wannan Yang
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Klara Z Gerlei
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Emma R Wood
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Matthew F Nolan
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Centre for Statistics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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46
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Caputi A, Liu X, Fuchs EC, Liu YC, Monyer H. Medial entorhinal cortex commissural input regulates the activity of spatially and object-tuned cells contributing to episodic memory. Neuron 2022; 110:3389-3405.e7. [PMID: 36084654 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Extensive interhemispheric projections connect many homotopic brain regions, including the hippocampal formation, but little is known as to how information transfer affects the functions supported by the target area. Here, we studied whether the commissural projections connecting the medial entorhinal cortices contribute to spatial coding, object coding, and memory. We demonstrate that input from the contralateral medial entorhinal cortex targets all major cell types in the superficial medial entorhinal cortex, modulating their firing rate. Notably, a fraction of responsive cells displayed object tuning and exhibited a reduction in their firing rate upon the inhibition of commissural input. In line with this finding are behavioral results that revealed the contribution of commissural input to episodic-like memory retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Caputi
- Department of Clinical Neurobiology at the Medical Faculty of the Heidelberg University and of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Xinghua Liu
- Department of Clinical Neurobiology at the Medical Faculty of the Heidelberg University and of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Elke C Fuchs
- Department of Clinical Neurobiology at the Medical Faculty of the Heidelberg University and of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yu-Chao Liu
- Department of Clinical Neurobiology at the Medical Faculty of the Heidelberg University and of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Hannah Monyer
- Department of Clinical Neurobiology at the Medical Faculty of the Heidelberg University and of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
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Yousif SR. Redundancy and Reducibility in the Formats of Spatial Representations. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2022; 17:1778-1793. [PMID: 35867333 DOI: 10.1177/17456916221077115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mental representations are the essence of cognition. Yet to understand how the mind works, one must understand not just the content of mental representations (i.e., what information is stored) but also the format of those representations (i.e., how that information is stored). But what does it mean for representations to be formatted? How many formats are there? Is it possible that the mind represents some pieces of information in multiple formats at once? To address these questions, I discuss a "case study" of representational format: the representation of spatial location. I review work (a) across species and across development, (b) across spatial scales, and (c) across levels of analysis (e.g., high-level cognitive format vs. low-level neural format). Along the way, I discuss the possibility that the same information may be organized in multiple formats simultaneously (e.g., that locations may be represented in both Cartesian and polar coordinates). Ultimately, I argue that seemingly "redundant" formats may support the flexible spatial behavior observed in humans and that researchers should approach the study of all mental representations with this possibility in mind.
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48
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Stoianov I, Maisto D, Pezzulo G. The hippocampal formation as a hierarchical generative model supporting generative replay and continual learning. Prog Neurobiol 2022; 217:102329. [PMID: 35870678 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We advance a novel computational theory of the hippocampal formation as a hierarchical generative model that organizes sequential experiences, such as rodent trajectories during spatial navigation, into coherent spatiotemporal contexts. We propose that the hippocampal generative model is endowed with inductive biases to identify individual items of experience (first hierarchical layer), organize them into sequences (second layer) and cluster them into maps (third layer). This theory entails a novel characterization of hippocampal reactivations as generative replay: the offline resampling of fictive sequences from the generative model, which supports the continual learning of multiple sequential experiences. We show that the model learns and efficiently retains multiple spatial navigation trajectories, by organizing them into spatial maps. Furthermore, the model reproduces flexible and prospective aspects of hippocampal dynamics that are challenging to explain within existing frameworks. This theory reconciles multiple roles of the hippocampal formation in map-based navigation, episodic memory and imagination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivilin Stoianov
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Domenico Maisto
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy.
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Chen ZS, Zhang X, Long X, Zhang SJ. Are Grid-Like Representations a Component of All Perception and Cognition? Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:924016. [PMID: 35911570 PMCID: PMC9329517 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.924016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Grid cells or grid-like responses have been reported in the rodent, bat and human brains during various spatial and non-spatial tasks. However, the functions of grid-like representations beyond the classical hippocampal formation remain elusive. Based on accumulating evidence from recent rodent recordings and human fMRI data, we make speculative accounts regarding the mechanisms and functional significance of the sensory cortical grid cells and further make theory-driven predictions. We argue and reason the rationale why grid responses may be universal in the brain for a wide range of perceptual and cognitive tasks that involve locomotion and mental navigation. Computational modeling may provide an alternative and complementary means to investigate the grid code or grid-like map. We hope that the new discussion will lead to experimentally testable hypotheses and drive future experimental data collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Sage Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- *Correspondence: Zhe Sage Chen
| | - Xiaohan Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Xiaoyang Long
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Sheng-Jia Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Sheng-Jia Zhang
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50
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Nair IR, Bhasin G, Roy D. Hippocampus Maintains a Coherent Map Under Reward Feature-Landmark Cue Conflict. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:878046. [PMID: 35558552 PMCID: PMC9086833 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.878046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals predominantly use salient visual cues (landmarks) for efficient navigation. When the relative position of the visual cues is altered, the hippocampal population exhibits heterogeneous responses and constructs context-specific spatial maps. Another critical factor that can strongly modulate spatial representation is the presence of reward. Reward features can drive behavior and are known to bias spatial attention. However, it is unclear whether reward features are used for spatial reference in the presence of distal cues and how the hippocampus population dynamics changes when the association between reward features and distal cues is altered. We systematically investigated these questions by recording place cells from the CA1 in different sets of experiments while the rats ran in an environment with the conflicting association between reward features and distal cues. We report that, when rewards features were only used as local cues, the hippocampal place fields exhibited coherent and dynamical orientation across sessions, suggesting the use of a single coherent spatial map. We found that place cells maintained their spatial offset in the cue conflict conditions, thus showing a robust spatial coupling featuring an attractor-like property in the CA1. These results indicate that reward features may control the place field orientation but may not cause sufficient input difference to create context-specific spatial maps in the CA1.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Guncha Bhasin
- National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Gurgaon, India
| | - Dipanjan Roy
- Centre for Brain Science and Application (CBSA), School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (AIDE), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur, Karwar, India
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