Abstract
Hippocampal information processing is discretized by oscillations, and the ensemble activity of place cells is organized into temporal sequences bounded by theta cycles. Theta sequences represent time-compressed trajectories through space. Their forward-directed nature makes them an intuitive candidate mechanism for planning future trajectories, but their connection to goal-directed behavior remains unclear. As rats performed a value-guided decision-making task, the extent to which theta sequences projected ahead of the animal's current location varied on a moment-by-moment basis depending on the rat's goals. Look-ahead extended farther on journeys to distant goals than on journeys to more proximal goals and was predictive of the animal's destination. On arrival at goals, however, look-ahead was similar regardless of where the animal began its journey from. Together, these results provide evidence that hippocampal theta sequences contain information related to goals or intentions, pointing toward a potential spatial basis for planning.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 289-294 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Nature neuroscience |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 17 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.