Abstract:
As we navigate the world, it is crucial to maintain a robust sense of where we are. Head-direction (HD) cells serve as the brain’s internal ‘compass’ and each of them is tuned to the specific direction the animal is facing, independently of its location and ongoing behavior. Theoretical models have long suggested that (1) the HD network is governed by ‘attractor dynamics’ ensuring the transmission of a reliable an unambiguous signal and (2) the HD signal is a crucial input to the entorhinal-hippocampal network where boundary vector, grid and place cells form the brain’s navigational system that allows to identify the animal’s current location. By recording from large ensembles of neurons in freely moving animals, and across brain states, we have provided experimental evidence for these theoretical predictions.
Neuroscience Seminar Series by the NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai