A boundary vector cell model of place field repetition

Citation

Grieves R, Duvelle E & Dudchenko P (2018) A boundary vector cell model of place field repetition. Spatial Cognition and Computation, 18 (3), pp. 217-256. https://doi.org/10.1080/13875868.2018.1437621

Abstract
Hippocampal place cells are thought to form the neural substrate of a global cognitive map. However, in multicompartment mazes these cells exhibit locally repeating representations, undermining the global cognitive map view of place cells. This phenomenon appears to be related to the repetitive layout of these mazes, but still no hypothesis adequately explains it. Here, we use a boundary vector cell model of place cell firing to model the activity of place cells in numerous multicompartment environments. The activity of modelled place cells bears a striking resemblance to experimental data, replicating virtually every major experimental result. Our results support the boundary vector cell model and indicate that locally repeating place cell firing could result purely from local geometry.

Keywords
place cell; boundary vector cell; computational model; border cell, field repetition; fragmentation; multicompartment

Journal
Spatial Cognition and Computation: Volume 18, Issue 3