How neuronal representations of space promote effective appetitive behaviour in mice
IGF, Montpellier
invited by M.Bocchio for the postdocs and students of Inmed

11h

Abstract : Retrieving and acting upon memories of food-predicting environments are fundamental processes for animal survival. In my talk, I will present our latest work showing in mice that the behavioral manifestation of spatial appetitive memory requires a direct neural pathway from dorsal CA1 (dCA1) hippocampus to nucleus accumbens. This pathway engages dCA1 with a select population of accumbens parvalbumin-expressing fast-spiking interneurons, thereby sculpting the assembly activity of its postsynaptic medium-sized spiny neurons. An indirect pathway through dorsal subiculum is dispensable for appetitive memory, but contributes to spatial novelty detection.