Otolith-dependent Brain Functions in Mice

 描述(申请人提供)：准确的导航被认为依赖于位置和方向的神经表示，这是由头部方向单元、位置单元和网格单元携带的。头部方向单元比放置单元更严重地依赖于信号 来自耳石器官，但还没有研究调查耳石对网格细胞活动的贡献。因此，与耳石功能障碍相关的空间缺陷可能是由于头部方向和/或网格细胞活动中断所致。这项拟议的研究将测试视觉和非视觉导航任务中耳石对内嗅皮层网格细胞活动的贡献。这些结果将为前庭信息在空间神经表征中的作用以及这些表征在导航中的作用提供重要的见解。彻底了解前庭对空间神经表征的贡献，可能会为前庭病理导致的认知障碍提供新的治疗方法。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Accurate navigation is thought to depend on neural representations of location and directional heading, which are carried by head direction cells, place cells, and grid cells. Head direction cells depend more heavily [than place cells] on signals from the otolith organs, but no studies have investigated the otolithic contribution to grid cell activity. Spatial deficits associated with otolith dysfunction may therefore result from disrupted head direction and/or grid cell activity. The proposed studies will test the otolithic contributionto entorhinal cortical grid cell activity during visual and non-visual navigation tasks. Results will provide important insight into the roles of vestibular information in neural representations of space, and the roles of these representations in navigation. A thorough understanding of the vestibular contribution to neural representations of space may enable new treatment approaches for cognitive deficits resulting from vestibular pathology.