Takuma Kitanishi Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo

Spatial recognition of where we are is a fundamental brain function for animal survival. While most animals, including humans, use visual information to estimate their position, the spatial information generated by the estimation are represented in the hippocampus and parahippocampal areas. However, it remains unclear how the visual information, particularly the visual Shitsukan information, is reflected in the hippocampal spatial representation. In this project, we will perform large-scale recordings of hippocampal/entorhinal neuronal activity while animals are presented with various visual stimuli during spatial exploration. We will clarify (1) information representation in single cells, (2) intercellular information transfer, and (3) information representation by cell populations. The study will uncover the how the visual Shitsukan information is converted into hippocampal spatial representation.