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Comment
. 2021 Apr 12;31(7):R335-R337.
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.098.

Spatial memory: Place cell activity is causally related to behavior

Mark H Plitt  1 , Lisa M Giocomo  2
Affiliations
Comment

Spatial memory: Place cell activity is causally related to behavior

Mark H Plitt et al. Curr Biol. .

Abstract

A recent study using new holographic optogenetic stimulation technology has provided direct evidence that hippocampal place cell activity is sufficient to drive memory and navigation-related behaviors.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Stimulating place cells drives behaviors associated with the spatial locations the place cells represent.
(A) When mice explore environments, sparse sets of hippocampal place cells form representations for confined spatial locations. (B) Specifically stimulating place cells associated with reward locations drives reward-associated behaviors like slowed running and licking for liquid rewards. (C) Stimulating place cells associated with locations in which the mouse typically runs fast, such as the beginning of a linear track, causes motivated animals to overrun reward locations. Images from scidraw.io (CC 4.0). Mouse images: Ethan Tyler and Lex Kravits 10.5281/zenodo.3925949 and 10.5281/zenodo.3925915. Pyramidal neuron: Federico Claud 10.5281/zenodo.3925905. Sagittal view of brain from Wenbo Tang 10.5281/zenodo.3925923.
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