Faculty Opinions recommendation of Neural representations of space in the hippocampus of a food-caching bird.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Smulders
Keyword(s):  
Food Caching ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Representations Of Space

scholarly journals Neural representations of space in the hippocampus of a food-caching bird

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 373 (6552) ◽  
pp. 343-348
Author(s):  
H. L. Payne ◽  
G. F. Lynch ◽  
D. Aronov
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Food Caching ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Hippocampal Activity ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Representations Of Space

Spatial memory in vertebrates requires brain regions homologous to the mammalian hippocampus. Between vertebrate clades, however, these regions are anatomically distinct and appear to produce different spatial patterns of neural activity. We asked whether hippocampal activity is fundamentally different even between distant vertebrates that share a strong dependence on spatial memory. We studied tufted titmice, food-caching birds capable of remembering many concealed food locations. We found mammalian-like neural activity in the titmouse hippocampus, including sharp-wave ripples and anatomically organized place cells. In a non–food-caching bird species, spatial firing was less informative and was exhibited by fewer neurons. These findings suggest that hippocampal circuit mechanisms are similar between birds and mammals, but that the resulting patterns of activity may vary quantitatively with species-specific ethological needs.

Multiple-Timescale Representations of Space: Linking Memory to Navigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenbo Tang ◽  
Shantanu P. Jadhav
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Spatial Representation ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Representation System ◽  
Dual Roles ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Experimental Findings ◽  
Representations Of Space ◽  
Multiple Timescale

When navigating through space, we must maintain a representation of our position in real time; when recalling a past episode, a memory can come back in a flash. Interestingly, the brain's spatial representation system, including the hippocampus, supports these two distinct timescale functions. How are neural representations of space used in the service of both real-world navigation and internal mnemonic processes? Recent progress has identified sequences of hippocampal place cells, evolving at multiple timescales in accordance with either navigational behaviors or internal oscillations, that underlie these functions. We review experimental findings on experience-dependent modulation of these sequential representations and consider how they link real-world navigation to time-compressed memories. We further discuss recent work suggesting the prevalence of these sequences beyond hippocampus and propose that these multiple-timescale mechanisms may represent a general algorithm for organizing cell assemblies, potentially unifying the dual roles of the spatial representation system in memory and navigation. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Neuroscience, Volume 45 is July 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals How environment and self-motion combine in neural representations of space

2016 ◽  
Vol 594 (22) ◽  
pp. 6535-6546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talfan Evans ◽  
Andrej Bicanski ◽  
Daniel Bush ◽  
Neil Burgess
Keyword(s):  
Neural Representations ◽  
Self Motion ◽  
Representations Of Space

scholarly journals Object-vector coding in the medial entorhinal cortex

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Øyvind Arne Høydal ◽  
Emilie Ranheim Skytøen ◽  
May-Britt Moser ◽  
Edvard I. Moser
Keyword(s):  
Entorhinal Cortex ◽  
Head Direction ◽  
Test Arena ◽  
Medial Entorhinal Cortex ◽  
Vector Coding ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Object Locations ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Freely Moving ◽  
Representations Of Space

SummaryMammals use distances and directions from local objects to calculate trajectories during navigation but how such vectorial operations are implemented in neural representations of space has not been determined. Here we show in freely moving mice that a population of neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) responds specifically when the animal is at a given distance and direction from a spatially confined object. These ‘object-vector cells’ are tuned similarly to a spectrum of discrete objects, irrespective of their location in the test arena. The vector relationships are expressed from the outset in novel environments with novel objects. Object-vector cells are distinct from grid cells, which use a distal reference frame, but the cells exhibit some mixed selectivity with head-direction and border cells. Collectively, these observations show that object locations are integrated in metric representations of self-location, with specific subsets of MEC neurons encoding vector relationships to individual objects.

Stable neural representations of mental states across target people and stimulus modalities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam E. Weaverdyck ◽  
Mark Allen Thornton ◽  
Diana Tamir
Keyword(s):  
Mental State ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Self ◽  
Similarity Analysis ◽  
Multiple Modalities ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Conceptual Core ◽  
Stimulus Modalities ◽  
Huge Variety

Each individual experiences mental states in their own idiosyncratic way, yet perceivers are able to accurately understand a huge variety of states across unique individuals. How do they accomplish this feat? Do people think about their own anger in the same ways as another person’s? Is reading about someone’s anxiety the same as seeing it? Here, we test the hypothesis that a common conceptual core unites mental state representations across contexts. Across three studies, participants judged the mental states of multiple targets, including a generic other, the self, a socially close other, and a socially distant other. Participants viewed mental state stimuli in multiple modalities, including written scenarios and images. Using representational similarity analysis, we found that brain regions associated with social cognition expressed stable neural representations of mental states across both targets and modalities. This suggests that people use stable models of mental states across different people and contexts.

A Reassessment of Avian Food Caching

Bird Behavior ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark T. Stanback
Keyword(s):  
Food Caching
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