Hippocampal CA3 region predicts memory sequences: accounting for the phase precession of place cells

Hippocampal recordings show that different place cells fire at different phases during the same theta oscillation, probably at the peak of different gamma cycles. As the rat moves through the place field of a given cell, the phase of firing during the theta cycle advances progressively. In this paper we have sought to determine whether a recently developed model of hippocampal and cortical memory function can explain this phase advance and other properties of place cells. According to this physiologically based model, the CA3 network stores information about the sequence of places traversed during learning. Here we show that the phase advance can be understood if it is assumed that the hippocampus is in a recall mode that operates when the animal is already familiar with a path. In this mode, sensory information about the current position triggers recall of the upcoming 5-6 places (memories) in the path at a rate of one memory per gamma cycle. The model predicts that the average phase advance will be one gamma cycle per theta cycle, a value in reasonable agreement with the data. The model also correctly accounts for (1) the fact that the firing of a place cell occurs during approximately 7 theta cycles (on average) as the animal crosses the place field; (2) the observation that the phase of place cell firing depends more systematically on position than on time; and (3) the fact that traversal of an already familiar path produces further modifications (shifts the firing of a cell to an earlier position in the path). This later finding suggests that recall of previously stored information strengthens the memory of that information. In the model, this occurs because of a novel role of N-methyl-D-aspartate channels in recall. The general success of the model provides support for the idea that the hippocampus stores sequence information and makes predictions of expected positions during gamma-frequency recall.