Work

Representation of visual landmarks in retrosplenial cortex

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: The process by which visual information is incorporated into the brain's spatial framework to represent landmarks is poorly understood. Studies in humans and rodents suggest that retrosplenial cortex (RSC) plays a key role in these computations. We developed an RSC-dependent behavioral task in which head-fixed mice learned the spatial relationship between visual landmark cues and hidden reward locations. Two-photon imaging revealed that these cues served as dominant reference points for most task-active neurons and anchored the spatial code in RSC. This encoding was more robust after task acquisition. Decoupling the virtual environment from mouse behavior degraded spatial representations and provided evidence that supralinear integration of visual and motor inputs contributes to landmark encoding. V1 axons recorded in RSC were less modulated by task engagement but showed surprisingly similar spatial tuning. Our data indicate that landmark representations in RSC are the result of local integration of visual, motor, and spatial information.

Source: eLife

DOI: 10.7554/elife.51458

Authors: Lukas F Fischer, Raul Mojica Soto-Albors, Friederike Buck, Mark T Harnett

Institutions: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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: Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke