Distinct Mechanisms of Over-Representation of Landmarks and Rewards in the Hippocampus.

ABSTRACT: In the hippocampus, locations associated with salient features are represented by a disproportionately large number of neurons, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this over-representation remain elusive. Using longitudinal calcium imaging in mice learning to navigate in virtual reality, we find that the over-representation of reward and landmark locations are mediated by persistent and separable subsets of neurons, with distinct time courses of emergence and differing underlying molecular mechanisms. Strikingly, we find that in mice lacking Shank2, an autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-linked gene encoding an excitatory postsynaptic scaffold protein, the learning-induced over-representation of landmarks was absent whereas the over-representation of rewards was substantially i

SUBMITTER: Sato M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7434948 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature