Structure-function relationships and plasticity in the rodent hippocampus

自从位置细胞被发现以来，啮齿类动物的视丘依赖性空间导航一直是研究情景记忆神经基础的理想模型系统。海马中位置图的快速形成以及它们在学习过程中的快速重组被认为反映了情景学习和记忆的机制。然而，在学习过程中海马空间图产生或可塑性改变的细胞机制在很大程度上仍然是难以捉摸的。在本提案中，我们将采用最先进的单细胞记录和刺激技术来解决两个主要目标。首先，通过记录和标记自由移动小鼠的单个神经元，我们的目标是解决不同的锥体细胞类型对海马编码的贡献。第二，通过精确的单细胞活动的时空操作，我们的目标是解决在自然行为过程中海马编码的尖峰依赖性可塑性机制。因此，这一建议将促进我们对海马回路中模式形成的细胞基础的理解，这对于理解健康和患病的空间记忆处理至关重要。

Since the discovery of place cells, hippocampus-dependent spatial navigation in rodents has been an ideal model system for investigating the neural basis of episodic memory. The rapid formation of place maps in the hippocampus, and their rapid reorganization during learning, are thought to reflect mechanisms of episodic learning and memory. Yet, the cellular mechanisms by which hippocampal spatial maps are generated or plastically modified during learning, have remained largely elusive. In the present proposal, we will employ state-of-the-art single cell recording and stimulation techniques for addressing two major goals. First - by recording and labeling single neurons in freely-moving mice - we aim at resolving the contribution of distinct pyramidal cell types to hippocampal coding. Second - by precise spatio-temporal manipulations of single cell activity - we aim at resolving spike-dependent plasticity mechanisms of hippocampal coding during natural behavior. This proposal will thus advance our understanding on the cellular basis of pattern formation in hippocampal circuits, which is of crucial importance for understanding healthy and diseased spatial memory processing.