The Interplay between Grid and Place Cell Networks and Contextual Inputs

Abstract

Place fields generated by place cells are hypothesized to give rise to a cognitive map in a given environment to support navigation and memory in rodents. Place fields have long been suggested to be triggered by inputs from grid cells in the entorhinal cortex. Studies that introduced hippocampal remapping, or the change in place fields, using only non-geometric contextual manipulations provide novel insights into the grid and place cell networks as well as the interaction between spatial and contextual signals. This review first presents evidence that supported or strengthened the classical view that contextual change acts on grid cell firing, which drives place cell remapping; studies that challenged this model are also included. In addition, other grid-and-place transformational models that demonstrate the role of contextual cues are discussed and criticized with previous computational, developmental, and inactivation studies.