Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Place cells and place navigation

J Bures1, A A Fenton, Y Kaminsky

  • 1Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|January 7, 1997
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Serum MicroRNA-196, -200 and -423 Improve Diagnostics and Differentiate Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma From Chronic Pancreatitis.

Physiological research·2025
Same author

ADMET parameters of tacrine and its metabolites confirm unsuitability of Sus scrofa f. domestica model to study tacrine-associated hepatotoxicity.

Chemico-biological interactions·2025
Same author

A Photoactivated Protein Degrader for Optical Control of Synaptic Function.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2023
Same author

Gastrointestinal toxicity of systemic oncology immunotherapy.

Klinicka onkologie : casopis Ceske a Slovenske onkologicke spolecnosti·2022
Same author

Dorsal hippocampal damage disrupts the auditory context-dependent attenuation of taste neophobia in mice.

Neurobiology of learning and memory·2018
Same author

Use of electrogastrography in preclinical studies of cholinergic and anticholinergic agents in experimental pigs.

Physiological research·2015
Same journal

Chemotactic self-organization captures the dynamics of mammalian hair follicle patterning.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Tomographic imaging of superconducting order using particle-hole interference.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inhibitory potential of autologous neutralizing antibodies sets quantitative limits on the rebound-competent HIV-1 reservoir.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inferring epidemiological parameters under an infectious phylogeography model with visitor dynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Analytical modeling for suction cup designs for skin-interfaced wearable devices.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Improving cell-free metabolism through direct integration of artificial respiratory chains.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Investigating hippocampal place cells (PCs) reveals how they contribute to spatial memory. Disrupting navigation without affecting PC activity impacts spatial memory, while conflicting orientation cues alter PC function and learning.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Spatial Navigation

Background:

  • The hippocampus is theorized to generate cognitive maps via place cells (PCs).
  • Experimental validation requires correlating PC activity with navigation behaviors.
  • Previous studies show navigation impairments can occur independently of PC changes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To experimentally test the role of hippocampal place cells (PCs) in cognitive map formation.
  • To compare the effects of navigation interference and orientation conflicts on PC activity and spatial learning.
  • To elucidate the reference frames (allocentric vs. egocentric) utilized by PCs and the navigating animal.

Main Methods:

  • Comparing PC activity with navigation in tasks like the Morris water maze and place avoidance/preference tasks.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Utilizing a computerized tracking system to simultaneously record rat locomotion and PC firing rate maps.
  • Manipulating environmental cues (e.g., rotating arena, darkness, cholinergic blockade) to create conflicts between allocentric and egocentric orientation.
  • Analyzing PC firing fields relative to room (allocentric) and arena (egocentric) reference frames.

    • Main Results:

    • Conditions impairing navigation (darkness, cholinergic blockade) without altering PC activity suggest post-PC spatial memory disruption.
    • Rotating arenas induce conflicts between egocentric and allocentric cues, slowing learning and causing PC firing field instability or remapping.
    • Severe conflicts in a 'field clamp' situation led to disintegration or remapping of 70% of PCs.
    • Simultaneous PC and navigation recording in place avoidance/preference tasks allows direct comparison of spatial reference frames.

    Conclusions:

    • PC activity is not solely deterministic of spatial memory; post-PC mechanisms are crucial.
    • Hippocampal place cells dynamically adjust their reference frames based on environmental cues and task demands.
    • The study provides direct evidence linking PC activity patterns to the specific spatial reference frames used during navigation.