A dual role for hippocampal replay.
Hippocampal place cells are active when the rat is at certain locations. The sequence of these active place cells is known to be rapidly replayed during sharp-wave-ripple events in the EEG. In this issue of Neuron, a study by Gupta et al. challenges previous notions that the replayed trajectories are solely a passive echo of past episodes. Rather, replay might also be an active process constructing a Tolmanian cognitive map of space, which makes flexible navigation possible.
Derdikman
Dori
D
Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and the Centre for the Biology of Memory, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7489, Trondheim, Norway. dori.derdikman@ntnu.no
Moser
May-Britt
MB
D000818:Animals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*