Hippocampal-prefrontal input supports spatial encoding in working memory

By T. Spellman, Mattia Rigotti, S. Ahmari, Stefano Fusi, J. Gogos, J. Gordon. Nature, 2015

647 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Spatial working memory, the caching of behaviourally relevant spatial cues on a timescale of seconds, is a fundamental constituent of cognition. Although the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus are known to contribute jointly to successful spatial working memory, the anatomical pathway and temporal window for the interaction of these structures critical to spatial working memory has not yet been established. Here we find that direct hippocampal–prefrontal afferents are critical for encoding, but not for maintenance or retrieval, of spatial cues in mice. These cues are represented by the activity of individual prefrontal units in a manner that is dependent on hippocampal input only during the cue-encoding phase of a spatial working memory task. Successful encoding of these cues appears to be mediated by gamma-frequency synchrony between the two structures. These findings indicate a critical role for the direct hippocampal–prefrontal afferent pathway in the continuous updating of task-related spatial information during spatial working memory.

Subfields: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f34890c834d53a825b07c13e42b61e3cf57077e6

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In Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

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Citations in the corpus

Distinct hippocampal-cortical memory representations for experiences associated with movement versus immobility (2017, positive): “We recorded activity in the CA1 region of the hippocampus and in PFC, both of which play critical roles in memory processes (Euston et al., 2012; Moscovitch et al., 2016; Spellman et al., 2015; Tse et al., 2011; Winocur and Moscovitch, 1990).”
Multi-sensory gamma stimulation ameliorates Alzheimer’s-associated pathology and improves cognition. (2019, background): “However, AD affects multiple brain centers critical for learning and memory and other higher-order brain functions such as the hippocampus (HPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) (Seeley et al., 2009; Sperling et al., 2010; Yamamoto et al., 2014; Spellman et al., 2015; Kim et al., 2016).”
Directional prefrontal-thalamic information flow is selectively required during spatial working memory retrieval (2022, methodology): “The process of spatial working memory is recognized typically divided into three phases: Encoding, maintenance, and retrieval (Spellman et al., 2015; Proskovec et al., 2016; Bolkan et al., 2017; Vogel et al., 2022).”
Theta Oscillations and Source Connectivity During Complex Audiovisual Object Encoding in Working Memory (2021, background): “, maintenance and retrieval) after the encoded stimuli disappear, whereas encoding deficits in working memory impair behavioral performance and involve abnormally functioning brain networks (Spellman et al., 2015; Wiesman et al., 2016).”