Linking hippocampal multiplexed tuning, Hebbian plasticity and navigation.

Three major pillars of hippocampal function are spatial navigation, Hebbian synaptic plasticity and spatial selectivity. The hippocampus is also implicated in episodic memory, but the precise link between these four functions is missing. Here we report the multiplexed selectivity of dorsal CA1 neurons while rats performed a virtual navigation task using only distal visual cues, similar to the standard water maze test of spatial memory.

Construction of an Improved Multi-Tetrode Hyperdrive for Large-Scale Neural Recording in Behaving Rats.

Monitoring the activity patterns of a large population of neurons over many days in awake animals is a valuable technique in the field of systems neuroscience. One key component of this technique consists of the precise placement of multiple electrodes into desired brain regions and the maintenance of their stability. Here, we describe a protocol for the construction of a 3D-printable hyperdrive, which includes eighteen independently adjustable tetrodes, and is specifically designed for in vivo extracellular neural recording in freely behaving rats.

Multisensory control of multimodal behavior: do the legs know what the tongue is doing?

Understanding of adaptive behavior requires the precisely controlled presentation of multisensory stimuli combined with simultaneous measurement of multiple behavioral modalities. Hence, we developed a virtual reality apparatus that allows for simultaneous measurement of reward checking, a commonly used measure in associative learning paradigms, and navigational behavior, along with precisely controlled presentation of visual, auditory and reward stimuli. Rats performed a virtual spatial navigation task analogous to the Morris maze where only distal visual or auditory cues provided spatial information.