Representation of visual landmarks in retrosplenial cortex.

TitleRepresentation of visual landmarks in retrosplenial cortex.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsFischer LF, Soto-Albors RMojica, Buck F, Harnett MT
JournalElife
Volume9
Date Published2020 Mar 10
ISSN2050-084X
Abstract

The process by which visual information is incorporated into the brain's spatial framework to represent landmarks is poorly understood. Studies in humans and rodents suggest that retrosplenial cortex (RSC) plays a key role in these computations. We developed an RSC-dependent behavioral task in which head-fixed mice learned the spatial relationship between visual landmark cues and hidden reward locations. Two-photon imaging revealed that these cues served as dominant reference points for most task-active neurons and anchored the spatial code in RSC. This encoding was more robust after task acquisition. Decoupling the virtual environment from mouse behavior degraded spatial representations and provided evidence that supralinear integration of visual and motor inputs contributes to landmark encoding. V1 axons recorded in RSC were less modulated by task engagement but showed surprisingly similar spatial tuning. Our data indicate that landmark representations in RSC are the result of local integration of visual, motor, and spatial information.

DOI10.7554/eLife.51458
Alternate JournalElife
PubMed ID32154781
PubMed Central IDPMC7064342
Grant ListRO1NS106031 / NH / NIH HHS / United States

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