Learning to use landmarks for navigation amplifies their representation in retrosplenial cortex.

ABSTRACT: Visual landmarks provide powerful reference signals for efficient navigation by altering the activity of spatially tuned neurons, such as place cells, head direction cells, and grid cells. To understand the neural mechanism by which landmarks exert such strong influence, it is necessary to identify how these visual features gain spatial meaning. In this study, we characterized visual landmark representations in mouse retrosplenial cortex (RSC) using chronic two-photon imaging of the same neuronal ensembles over the course of spatial learning. We found a pronounced increase in landmark-referenced activity in RSC neurons that, once established, remained stable across days. Changing behavioral context by uncoupling treadmill motion from visual feedback systematically altered neuronal response

SUBMITTER: Fischer LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11370392 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature