Hippocampal place cells in rats display spatially selective firing in relation to both external and internal cues. In the present study, we assessed the effects of removing visual and/or olfactory cues on place field stability. Place cell activity was recorded as rats searched for randomly scattered food in a cylinder. During an initial recording session, the lights were on and the only available cue was a single white cue card. Following this session, three sessions were run in a row with the cue card removed. In addition, the lights were either turned off or left on and the floor was either cleaned or left unchanged, thus creating four conditions: dark/cleaning, dark/no cleaning, light/cleaning, and light/no cleaning. A fifth session was run with the cue card back on the cylinder wall and the lights turned on. The rat remained in the cylinder during all sessions without being removed at any time. In the dark/cleaning and light/cleaning conditions, most place fields were not stable (i.e., abruptly shifted position). In addition, half of the cells stopped firing in the dark/cleaning condition. In contrast, in the dark/no cleaning and light/no cleaning conditions, most place fields remained stable across sessions. These results suggest that 1) rats are not able to rely on only movement-related information to maintain a stable place representation, 2) visual input is necessary for the firing of a large number of cells, and 3) olfactory information can be used to compensate for the lack of visuospatial information.

Hippocampal place cells in rats display spatially selective firing in relation to both external and internal cues. In the present study, we assessed the effects of removing visual and/or olfactory cues on place field stability. Place cell activity was recorded as rats searched for randomly scattered food in a cylinder. During an initial recording session, the lights were on and the only available cue was a single white cue card. Following this session, three sessions were run in a row with the cue card removed. In addition, the lights were either turned off or left on and the floor was either cleaned or left unchanged, thus creating four conditions: dark/cleaning, dark/no cleaning, light/cleaning, and light/no cleaning. A fifth session was run with the cue card back on the cylinder wall and the lights turned on. The rat remained in the cylinder during all sessions without being removed at any time. In the dark/cleaning and light/cleaning conditions, most place fields were not stable (i.e., abruptly shifted position). In addition, half of the cells stopped firing in the dark/cleaning condition. In contrast, in the dark/no cleaning and light/no cleaning conditions, most place fields remained stable across sessions. These results suggest that 1) rats are not able to rely on only movement‐related information to maintain a stable place representation, 2) visual input is necessary for the firing of a large number of cells, and 3) olfactory information can be used to compensate for the lack of visuospatial information. Hippocampus 2000;10:64–76. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Objective: Survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) often have spatial navigation deficits. This study examined such deficits and conducted a detailed analysis of navigational behaviour in a virtual environment.Design: TBI survivors were tested in a computer simulation of the Morris water maze task that required them to find and remember the location of an invisible platform that was always in the same location. A follow-up questionnaire assessed everyday spatial ability. Method: Fourteen survivors of moderate-to-severe TBI were compared to 12 non-injured participants. Results: TBI survivors navigated to a visible platform but could not learn the location of the invisible platform. The difference between TBI survivors and uninjured participants was best indicated by two new dependent variables, path efficacy and spatial scores. Conclusion: This study confirms the capacity of virtual environments to reveal spatial navigation deficits after TBI and establishes the best way to identify such deficits.

A characteristic feature of the electroencephalogram (EEG) of the hippocampus and rhinal (entorhinal and perirhinal) cortex of the freely moving rat is theta rhythm, a prominent oscillation of approximately 8 Hz. Here we demonstrate that a novel rhythm that occurs at the border between the theta and alpha range of frequencies (10-12 Hz) can also be recorded from these structures. This rhythm (referred to here as "flutter") appears to be of non-theta origin as it can occur simultaneously with theta and it does not display the phase inversion across the hippocampus that characterizes theta activity. Flutter is observed in locomoting rats that are foraging for food reward in a familiar environment. Flutter disappears when rats are placed into a novel (although visually identical) environment, even though their foraging behavior does not appear to be altered. It is, at the present time, unclear what function flutter subserves. The presence of flutter may relate to a particular motivational state of the animal or to a particular type of information processing.