Grid Cell Spatial Periodicity: Necessary Intercellular Interactions during Development and Behavioral Function

• Applicant: Dr. Kevin Allen
• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: from 2013 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 241670582

Spatial behaviors in mammals depend on internal spatial representations generated in several interconnected brain regions. A striking example is found in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC). The main building blocks of the MEC spatial representation are grid cells, which fire only when the position of an animal corresponds to the vertices of a grid of equilateral triangles. Although the firing of grid cells during exploratory behavior is now well characterized, the network mechanisms responsible for the spatial periodicity of grid cells and the possible function of grid cells at the behavioral level are not known. The current project has three main objectives. Firstly, we will test whether intercellular interactions via electrical and chemical synapses early during development play an important role in the formation of grid cell spatial periodicity. Secondly, we will characterize the activity of a group of MEC neurons expressing somatostatin and investigate how they interact with grid cells. Thirdly, we will test the main hypothesis regarding the behavioral function of grid cell spatial periodicity, namely, that grid cell periodicity is essential for path integration. Our experimental approach will combine temporally-regulated gene silencing, optogenetics, in vivo recordings and spatial navigation tests. This work will advance our understanding of the network mechanisms behind the spatial representation of the MEC and will help to clarify the role of grid cells in spatial behavior.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Konstantin Khodosevich; Professorin Dr. Hannah Monyer