Work

Phase-tuned neuronal firing encodes human contextual representations for navigational goals

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: We previously demonstrated that the phase of oscillations modulates neural activity representing categorical information using human intracranial recordings and high-frequency activity from local field potentials (Watrous et al., 2015b). We extend these findings here using human single-neuron recordings during a virtual navigation task. We identify neurons in the medial temporal lobe with firing-rate modulations for specific navigational goals, as well as for navigational planning and goal arrival. Going beyond this work, using a novel oscillation detection algorithm, we identify phase-locked neural firing that encodes information about a person's prospective navigational goal in the absence of firing rate changes. These results provide evidence for navigational planning and contextual accounts of human MTL function at the single-neuron level. More generally, our findings identify phase-coded neuronal firing as a component of the human neural code.

Source: eLife

DOI: 10.7554/elife.32554

Authors: Andrew J Watrous, Jonathan Miller, Salman E Qasim, Itzhak Fried, Joshua Jacobs

Institutions: Columbia University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of California, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,500

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke