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PMID: 19829374 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Intracellular dynamics of hippocampal place cells during virtual navigation.

Nature ·Vol. 461 ·No. 7266 ·2009-10-15 ·Pages 941-6

Harvey CD, Collman F, Dombeck DA, Tank DW

Abstract

Hippocampal place cells encode spatial information in rate and temporal codes. To examine the mechanisms underlying hippocampal coding, here we measured the intracellular dynamics of place cells by combining in vivo whole-cell recordings with a virtual-reality system. Head-restrained mice, running on a spherical treadmill, interacted with a computer-generated visual environment to perform spatial behaviours. Robust place-cell activity was present during movement along a virtual linear track. From whole-cell recordings, we identified three subthreshold signatures of place fields: an asymmetric ramp-like depolarization of the baseline membrane potential, an increase in the amplitude of intracellular theta oscillations, and a phase precession of the intracellular theta oscillation relative to the extracellularly recorded theta rhythm. These intracellular dynamics underlie the primary features of place-cell rate and temporal codes. The virtual-reality system developed here will enable new experimental approaches to study the neural circuits underlying navigation.

MeSH Terms
Animals Behavior, Animal/physiology Hippocampus/cytology,physiology Intracellular Space/metabolism Locomotion/physiology Male Membrane Potentials/physiology Mice Mice, Inbred C57BL Neurons/metabolism Pyramidal Cells/metabolism Space Perception/physiology Theta Rhythm User-Computer Interface
Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Harvey Christopher D
Princeton Neuroscience Institute, New Jersey 08544, USA.
Collman Forrest
Dombeck Daniel A
Tank David W
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Article Info
Journal
Nature
Abbr.
Nature
ISSN
1476-4687
DOI
10.1038/nature08499
Published
2009-10-15
Pages
941-6
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
0410462
PMCID
PMC2771429
Subset
IM
Grants
NIMH NIH HHS · R01 MH060651-09 · United States
NIMH NIH HHS · R01 MH060651 · United States
NIMH NIH HHS · 5R01MH060651-09 · United States
NIMH NIH HHS · 1R01MH083686-01 · United States
NIMH NIH HHS · R01 MH083686 · United States
NIMH NIH HHS · R01 MH083686-02S1 · United States
NIMH NIH HHS · R01 MH083686-02 · United States
Corrections
CommentIn
PMID: 19829361
CommentIn
PMID: 21158013
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1038/nature08499 PMC Full Text View journal details
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