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The Journal of Neuroscience, 2001, 21:RC154:1-5

RAPID COMMUNICATION
Background, But Not Foreground, Spatial Cues Are Taken as References for Head Direction Responses by Rat Anterodorsal Thalamus Neurons

Michaël B. Zugaro, Alain Berthoz, and Sidney I. Wiener

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Collège de France, Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception et de l'Action, 75231 Paris CEDEX 05, France

Two populations of limbic neurons are likely neurophysiological substrates for cognitive operations required for spatial orientation and navigation: hippocampal pyramidal cells discharge selectively when the animal is in a certain place (the "firing field") in the environment, whereas head direction cells discharge when the animal orients its head in a specific, "preferred" direction. Cressant et al. (1997) showed that the firing fields of hippocampal place cells reorient relative to a group of three-dimensional objects only if these are at the periphery, but not the center of an enclosed platform. To test for corresponding responses in head direction cells, three objects were equally spaced along the periphery of a circular platform. Preferred directions were measured before and after the group of objects was rotated. (The rat was disoriented in total darkness between sessions). This was repeated in the presence or absence of a cylinder enclosing the platform. When the enclosure was present, the preferred directions of all 30 cells recorded shifted by the same angle as the objects. In the absence of the enclosure, the preferred directions did not follow the objects, remaining fixed relative to the room. These results provide a possible neurophysiological basis for observations from psychophysical experiments in humans that background, rather than foreground, cues are preferentially used for spatial orientation.

Key words: foreground; background; landmark; spatial orientation; place cells; navigation

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This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. J. Siegel, J. P. Neunuebel, and J. J. Knierim Dominance of the Proximal Coordinate Frame in Determining the Locations of Hippocampal Place Cell Activity During Navigation J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2008; 99(1): 60 - 76. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Yoganarasimha, X. Yu, and J. J. Knierim Head Direction Cell Representations Maintain Internal Coherence during Conflicting Proximal and Distal Cue Rotations: Comparison with Hippocampal Place Cells J. Neurosci., January 11, 2006; 26(2): 622 - 631. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. B. Zugaro, A. Arleo, A. Berthoz, and S. I. Wiener Rapid Spatial Reorientation and Head Direction Cells J. Neurosci., April 15, 2003; 23(8): 3478 - 3482. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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