Dataset Information

Diverse spatial reference frames of vestibular signals in parietal cortex.

ABSTRACT: Reference frames are important for understanding how sensory cues from different modalities are coordinated to guide behavior, and the parietal cortex is critical to these functions. We compare reference frames of vestibular self-motion signals in the ventral intraparietal area (VIP), parietoinsular vestibular cortex (PIVC), and dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd). Vestibular heading tuning in VIP is invariant to changes in both eye and head positions, indicating a body (or world)-centered reference frame. Vestibular signals in PIVC have reference frames that are intermediate between head and body centered. In contrast, MSTd neurons show reference frames between head and eye centered but not body centered. Eye and head position gain fields were strongest in MSTd and weakest in PIVC. Our findings reveal distinct spatial reference frames for representing vestibular signals and pose new challenges for understanding the respective roles of these areas in potentially diverse vestibular functions.

SUBMITTER: Chen X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3858444 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Diverse spatial reference frames of vestibular signals in parietal cortex.

Chen Xiaodong X Deangelis Gregory C GC Angelaki Dora E DE

Neuron 20131114 5

Reference frames are important for understanding how sensory cues from different modalities are coordinated to guide behavior, and the parietal cortex is critical to these functions. We compare reference frames of vestibular self-motion signals in the ventral intraparietal area (VIP), parietoinsular vestibular cortex (PIVC), and dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd). Vestibular heading tuning in VIP is invariant to changes in both eye and head positions, indicating a body (or world)-center ...[more]

PMID: 24239126

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Project description:Primates rely predominantly on vision to gather information from the environment and neurons representing visual space and gaze position are found in many brain areas. Within the medial temporal lobe, a brain region critical for memory, neurons in the entorhinal cortex of macaque monkeys exhibit spatial selectivity for gaze position. Specifically, the firing rate of single neurons reflects fixation location within a visual image (Killian et al., 2012). In the rodents, entorhinal cells such as grid cells, border cells, and head direction cells show spatial representations aligned to visual environmental features instead of the body (Hafting et al., 2005; Sargolini et al., 2006; Solstad et al., 2008; Diehl et al., 2017). However, it is not known whether similar allocentric representations exist in primate entorhinal cortex. Here, we recorded neural activity in the entorhinal cortex in two male rhesus monkeys during a naturalistic, free-viewing task. Our data reveal that a majority of entorhinal neurons represent gaze position and that simultaneously recorded neurons represent gaze position relative to distinct spatial reference frames, with some neurons aligned to the visual image and others aligned to the monkey's head position. Our results also show that entorhinal neural activity can be used to predict gaze position with a high degree of accuracy. These findings demonstrate that visuospatial representation is a fundamental property of entorhinal neurons in primates and suggest that entorhinal cortex may support relational memory and motor planning by coding attentional locus in distinct, behaviorally relevant frames of reference.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The entorhinal cortex, a brain area important for memory, shows striking spatial activity in rodents through grid cells, border cells, head direction cells, and nongrid spatial cells. The majority of entorhinal neurons signal the location of a rodent relative to visual environmental cues, representing the location of the animal relative to space in the world instead of the body. Recently, we found that entorhinal neurons can signal location of gaze while a monkey explores images visually. Here, we report that spatial entorhinal neurons are widespread in the monkey and these neurons are capable of showing a world-based spatial reference frame locked to the bounds of explored images. These results help connect the extensive findings in rodents to the primate.

Dataset Information

Diverse spatial reference frames of vestibular signals in parietal cortex.

Publications

Diverse spatial reference frames of vestibular signals in parietal cortex.

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