Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, 610 Commonwealth Ave, 7th Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, 1301 Catherine St. Rm 7433, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
Nat Commun. 2020 May 15;11(1):2443. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16226-4.
Trajectory-dependent splitter neurons in the hippocampus encode information about a rodent's prior trajectory during performance of a continuous alternation task. As such, they provide valuable information for supporting memory-guided behavior. Here, we employed single-photon calcium imaging in freely moving mice to investigate the emergence and fate of trajectory-dependent activity through learning and mastery of a continuous spatial alternation task. In agreement with others, the quality of trajectory-dependent information in hippocampal neurons correlated with task performance. We thus hypothesized that, due to their utility, splitter neurons would exhibit heightened stability. We find that splitter neurons were more likely to remain active and retained more consistent spatial information across multiple days than other neurons. Furthermore, we find that both splitter neurons and place cells emerged rapidly and maintained stable trajectory-dependent/spatial activity thereafter. Our results suggest that neurons with useful functional coding exhibit heightened stability to support memory guided behavior.
在执行连续交替任务时，海马体中的轨迹依赖型分裂神经元会对啮齿动物先前的轨迹信息进行编码。因此，它们为支持记忆引导行为提供了有价值的信息。在这里，我们在自由活动的小鼠中使用单光子钙成像技术，研究了通过连续空间交替任务的学习和掌握，轨迹依赖活动的出现和命运。与其他人的研究一致，海马体神经元中的轨迹相关信息的质量与任务表现相关。因此，我们假设，由于它们的实用性，分裂神经元将表现出更高的稳定性。我们发现，与其他神经元相比，分裂神经元更有可能保持活跃，并在多日的时间内保持更一致的空间信息。此外，我们发现分裂神经元和位置细胞都迅速出现，并在此后保持稳定的轨迹依赖/空间活动。我们的研究结果表明，具有有用功能编码的神经元表现出更高的稳定性，以支持记忆引导行为。
