RETROSPLENIAL CORTEX CONTRIBUTIONS TO SPATIAL NAVIGATION

描述(改编自申请人的摘要)：本提案寻求 以解决多个结构如何交互以协调活动导航。 学习和记住重要资源的位置的能力是 对每一种动物的生存能力来说都是绝对关键的。因此，它是 对于了解神经系统如何相互作用进行调解具有重要意义 这种行为。拟议的研究将评估皮质对 海马区和边缘丘脑的空间信息处理。过去时 解剖，损伤和电生理数据显示脾后 大脑皮层可能对空间学习有独特的贡献。它是 假设脾后皮质对 边缘结构中视觉和自我运动信息的整合 被认为与航海有关。为了检验这一假设，永久性的 脾后皮质的损伤和暂时失活将合并 与慢性单一单位记录从海马体和丘脑 活动导航。将使用行为探测试验来确定变化 在切除脾后皮质后的行为策略。它是 预测在没有脾后皮质的情况下， 视觉和自我运动信息在空间上将会减少 从丘脑和海马体记录的相关性和行为数据将 反映空间记忆潜在的行为策略的类似变化 性能。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from applicant's abstract): The present proposal seeks to address how multiple structures interact to mediate active navigation. The ability to learn and remember locations of important resources is absolutely critical for every animal's ability to survive. As such, it is of great importance to understand how neural systems interact to mediate this behavior. The proposed studies will evaluate cortical contributions to processing of spatial information in hippocampus and limbic thalamus. Past anatomical, lesion and electrophysiological data suggest the retrosplenial cortex may make unique contributions to spatial learning. It is hypothesized here that retrosplenial cortex importantly contributes to the integration of visual and self movement information in limbic structures thought to be involved in navigation. To test this hypothesis, permanent lesions and temporary inactivation of retrosplenial cortex will be combined with chronic single unit recording from hippocampus and thalamus during active navigation. Behavioral probe trials will be used to identify changes in behavioral strategies following removal of retrosplenial cortex. It is predicted that in the absence of retrosplenial cortex the integration of visual and self movement information will be diminished in spatial correlates recorded from thalamus and hippocampus and behavioral data will reflect similar changes in behavioral strategies underlying spatial memory performance.