An independent, landmark-dominated head-direction signal in dysgranular retrosplenial cortex
Nature Neuroscience 20, 173 (2017).
doi:10.1038/nn.4465
Authors: Pierre-Yves Jacob, Giulio Casali, Laure Spieser, Hector Page, Dorothy Overington & Kate Jeffery
We investigated how landmarks influence the brain's computation of head direction and found that in a bidirectionally symmetrical environment, some neurons in dysgranular retrosplenial cortex showed bidirectional firing patterns. This indicates dominance of neural activity by local environmental cues even when these conflicted with the global head direction signal. It suggests a mechanism for associating landmarks to or dissociating them from the head direction signal, according to their directional stability and/or utility.
Source: Nature Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Pierre-Yves Jacob Giulio Casali Laure Spieser Hector Page Dorothy Overington Kate Jeffery Tags: Brief Communication Source Type: research