Comparable theta phase coding dynamics along the transverse axis of CA1

Abstract

AbstractTopographical projection patterns from the entorhinal cortex to area CA1 of the hippocampus have led to a hypothesis that proximal CA1 (pCA1) is spatially more selective than distal CA1 (dCA1). While earlier studies have shown evidence supporting this hypothesis, we recently showed that this difference does not hold true under all experimental conditions. In a complex environment with distinct local texture cues on a circular track and global visual cues, pCA1 and dCA1 display comparable spatial selectivity. Correlated with the spatial selectivity differences, the earlier studies also showed differences in theta phase coding dynamics between pCA1 and dCA1 neurons. Here we show that there are no differences in theta phase coding dynamics between neurons in these two regions under the experimental conditions where pCA1 and dCA1 neurons are equally spatially selective. We also show that dCA1 local field potentials (LFPs) show higher power in theta range compared to pCA1 LFPs. These findings challenge the established notion of dCA1 being inherently less spatially selective and theta modulated than pCA1 and suggest that theta-mediated activation of the CA1 sub-networks to represent space is task-dependent.New and NoteworthyProximal CA1 has been shown to be more spatially selective and influenced by theta oscillations than distal CA1. We demonstrate an experimental condition under which this functional distinction does not persist, and distal and proximal CA1 neurons show comparable spatial selectivity and influence of theta oscillations. We discuss how the observed results cannot be explained by the anatomical segregation of the lateral and the medial entorhinal cortical inputs as proposed earlier and suggest alternative mechanisms.