Dudchenko P A, Taube J S
Department of Psychology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA.
Behav Neurosci. 1997 Feb;111(1):3-19. doi: 10.1037//0735-7044.111.1.3.
This study assessed the activity of head direction (HD) cells during performance of a spatial reference memory task on a radial arm maze. Rats were trained to select a maze arm located in a constant position in relation to a salient extramaze visual landmark. HD cell discharge properties remained relatively stable across task acquisition in most rats. Following acquisition, rotation of the landmark by 90 degrees or 180 degrees usually led to a corresponding shift in the maze arm selected and the HD cell's preferred firing direction. When the cell's preferred direction did not shift, rats usually selected the wrong arm. HD cell activity was not influenced by the rat's approach to the goal, reward consumption, or exit from the reward area. This demonstration of landmark control over behavior and the cell's preferred direction supports the hypothesis that HD cells contribute to an absolute representation of the environment that can be used to guide spatial behavior.
本研究评估了大鼠在放射状臂迷宫上执行空间参考记忆任务期间头方向（HD）细胞的活动。训练大鼠选择相对于突出的迷宫外部视觉地标位于恒定位置的迷宫臂。在大多数大鼠中，HD细胞放电特性在任务获取过程中保持相对稳定。获取后，将地标旋转90度或180度通常会导致所选迷宫臂以及HD细胞偏好的放电方向发生相应变化。当细胞的偏好方向未发生变化时，大鼠通常会选择错误的臂。HD细胞活动不受大鼠接近目标、奖励消耗或离开奖励区域的影响。这种地标对行为和细胞偏好方向的控制证明支持了以下假设：HD细胞有助于形成可用于指导空间行为的环境绝对表征。
