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Positional firing properties of postrhinal cortex neurons.

R D Burwell1, D M Hafeman

  • 1Brown University, Psychology Department, 89 Waterman, Providence, RI 02912, USA. rebecca_burwell@brown.edu

Neuroscience
|May 29, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Researchers studied postrhinal cortex neurons in rats navigating a maze. Most neurons showed spatial firing, but unlike hippocampal place cells, their firing fields were unstable and shifted with environmental cue changes.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Spatial Navigation

Background:

  • Hippocampal place cells exhibit spatial selectivity in awake rats.
  • Neurons in medial entorhinal and perirhinal cortices also show spatial correlates.
  • Postrhinal cortex, interconnected with visuospatial regions, receives input from these areas.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the spatial selectivity of neurons in the postrhinal cortex.
  • To compare the characteristics of postrhinal cortex neuronal activity with hippocampal place cells.
  • To understand the role of postrhinal cortex in visuospatial processing.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded neuronal activity in the postrhinal cortex of freely moving rats performing a spatial task on a four-arm radial maze.

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  • Utilized a maze with proximal and distal multisensory cues.
  • Manipulated environmental cues through double cue rotation (proximal +90 degrees; distal -90 degrees).

    • Main Results:

    • 64% of postrhinal neurons exhibited positional correlates during the spatial task.
    • 93% of postrhinal cells with firing fields displayed split or multiple subfields.
    • 84% of postrhinal firing fields shifted spatial correlates unpredictably following cue rotation, unlike hippocampal place fields.

    Conclusions:

    • Postrhinal cortex neurons show positional correlates but differ significantly from hippocampal place cells.
    • Postrhinal cortex appears to monitor environmental stimuli changes rather than encoding stable spatial cues.
    • Postrhinal neurons may be involved in higher-level perceptual functions, representing an early stage in the spatial processing pathway.