Knowing your place: subfield specific involvement in hippocampal spatial processing

Abstract

Spatial navigation is a critical part of animal behavior. Experimental data show that some cells in the hippocampus of animals engaged in exploration respond preferentially to particular physical locations. These place cells give us an important indication of hippocampal participation in spatial processing. Recent work has examined differences in place field representations between hippocampal subfields. We discuss these findings and show, using a computational model, how known aspects of hippocampal physiology can explain these differences.