Route Finding in a Complex Maze in Wild-Type and CA1 NR-1 KO Mice: Hippocampal Local Field Potentials, Single Units and Relationship with Behavior

Spatial navigation relies on the brain ability to combine information from multiple streams in order to generate a cognitive map, which is then used, for example, to find routes to a goal. This takes place in a network of brain structures centered on the hippocampus. Hippocampal place cells, cells that activate only when the animal is in a particular location in the environment combine sensory information with the estimate of animal's position updated by self-motion signals. Synaptic plasticity is important for these processes: Transgenic mice with a disfunctional NR-1 receptor in the CA1 hippocampal subfield are impaired in a route finding task on a star-shaped maze. We use a combination of neural ensemble electrophysiology and behavioral video tracking to analyze place cells in these mice and wild-type controls, showing how they adapt to the strategy adopted by the animal for route finding.