RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Subiculum Neurons Map the Current Axis of Travel JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 050641 DO 10.1101/050641 A1 Jacob M. Olson A1 Kanyanat Tongprasearth A1 Douglas A. Nitz YR 2016 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/04/27/050641.abstract AB Travel constrained to paths, a common navigational context, demands knowledge of spatial relationships between routes, their components, and their positioning in the larger environment. During traversal of an environment composed of multiple interconnected paths, a subpopulation of subiculum neurons robustly encoded the animal’s current axis of travel. The firing of these axis-tuned neurons peaked bimodally at head orientations approximately 180 degrees apart. Track rotation experiments revealed that axis encoding carried the spatial reference frame of the larger environment as opposed to the track itself. However, axis-tuned activity of the same subpopulation was largely absent during unconstrained movement about a circular arena. Thus, during navigation in a path-rich environment, subpopulations of subiculum neurons encode the animal’s current axis of travel relative to environmental boundaries - providing a powerful mechanism for mapping of specific relationships between routes, route components, and the larger environment.