Spatial coding in the hippocampal formation: input, information type, plasticity, and behaviour
Colin Lever, Francesca Cacucci, Tom Wills, Stephen Burton, ALASTAIR G. R. McCLELLAND, Neil Burgess, John O’Keefe · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2003
This chapter takes an analytical approach to the construction of place fields in order to explore what information the cells receive and from which areas, and how they piece this together to produce the phenomena seen in the laboratory. It concentrates on place cells in rodents. First, it briefly sketches key aspects of hippocampal formation connectivity in order to ground discussion in later sections. It then surveys the types of spatial information required by cognitive map theory, and their instantiation in the hippocampal formation. In addition, recent evidence relevant to encoding of distance and speed is considered. It also describes the degree to which experience-dependent plasticity is required to explain hippocampal place cell characteristics and functioning, and outlines data showing long-term plasticity in place cells, suggesting they form a substrate for incidental environmental learning. Some consideration is given to the nature of the plasticity involved. Furthermore, it addresses the aspects of the relationship between the hippocampal formation and behaviour in the spatial domain.