Rat anterodorsal thalamic head direction neurons depend upon dynamic visual signals to select anchoring landmark cues

The European Journal of Neuroscience
Michaël B ZugaroSidney I Wiener

Abstract

Head direction cells, which are functionally coupled to 'place' cells of the hippocampus, a structure critically involved in spatial cognition, are likely neural substrates for the sense of direction. Here we studied the mechanism by which head direction cells are principally anchored to background visual cues [M.B. Zugaro et al. (2001) J. Neurosci., 21, RC154,1-5]. Anterodorsal thalamic head direction cells were recorded while the rat foraged on a small elevated platform in a 3-m diameter cylindrical enclosure. A large card was placed in the background, near the curtain, and a smaller card was placed in the foreground, near the platform. The cards were identically marked, proportionally dimensioned, subtended the same visual angles from the central vantage point and separated by 90 degrees. The rat was then disoriented in darkness, the cards were rotated by 90 degrees in opposite directions about the center and the rat was returned. Preferred directions followed either the background card, foreground card or midpoint between the two cards. In continuous lighting, preferred directions shifted to follow the background cue in most cases (30 of the 53 experiments, Batschelet V-test, P < 0.01). Stroboscopic illumination, which pert...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jan 16, 2008·Cognitive Processing·Cinzia Chiandetti, Giorgio Vallortigara
Dec 25, 2013·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Rebecca KnightKathryn J Jeffery
Jul 27, 2006·Psychological Science·Valeria Anna Sovrano, Giorgio Vallortigara
Jan 13, 2006·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·D YoganarasimhaJames J Knierim
Aug 7, 2008·Behavioural Brain Research·Chiara Sajidha SautterFrançoise Schenk
Aug 1, 2007·Cognitive Psychology·Kristin R Ratliff, Nora S Newcombe
Sep 23, 2008·Cognition·Sabine GillnerHanspeter A Mallot

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