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Boundary coding in the rat subiculum

Stewart, S.; Jeewajee, A.; Wills, T.J.; Burgess, N.; Lever, C.

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Authors

S. Stewart

A. Jeewajee

T.J. Wills

N. Burgess



Abstract

The spatial mapping function of the hippocampal formation is likely derived from two sets of information: one based on the external environment and the other based on self-motion. Here, we further characterize ‘boundary vector cells’ (BVCs) in the rat subiculum, which code space relative to one type of cue in the external environment: boundaries. We find that the majority of cells with fields near the perimeter of a walled environment exhibit an additional firing field when an upright barrier is inserted into the walled environment in a manner predicted by the BVC model. We use this property of field repetition as a heuristic measure to define BVCs, and characterize their spatial and temporal properties. In further tests, we find that subicular BVCs typically treat drop edges similarly to walls, including exhibiting field repetition when additional drop-type boundaries are added to the testing environment. In other words, BVCs treat both kinds of edge as environmental boundaries, despite their dissimilar sensory properties. Finally, we also report the existence of ‘boundary-off cells’, a new class of boundary-coding cells. These cells fire everywhere except where a given BVC might fire.

Citation

Stewart, S., Jeewajee, A., Wills, T., Burgess, N., & Lever, C. (2014). Boundary coding in the rat subiculum. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369(1635), Article 20120514. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0514

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 20, 2013
Online Publication Date Feb 5, 2014
Publication Date Feb 5, 2014
Deposit Date Jan 18, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Print ISSN 0962-8436
Electronic ISSN 1471-2970
Publisher The Royal Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 369
Issue 1635
Article Number 20120514
DOI https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0514

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