Learning place cells, grid cells and invariances with excitatory and inhibitory plasticity.

ABSTRACT: Neurons in the hippocampus and adjacent brain areas show a large diversity in their tuning to location and head direction, and the underlying circuit mechanisms are not yet resolved. In particular, it is unclear why certain cell types are selective to one spatial variable, but invariant to another. For example, place cells are typically invariant to head direction. We propose that all observed spatial tuning patterns - in both their selectivity and their invariance - arise from the same mechanism: Excitatory and inhibitory synaptic plasticity driven by the spatial tuning statistics of synaptic inputs. Using simulations and a mathematical analysis, we show that combined excitatory and inhibitory plasticity can lead to localized, grid-like or invariant activity. Combinations of different inp

SUBMITTER: Weber SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5927772 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature