Context-dependent reorganization of spatial and movement representations by simultaneously recorded hippocampal and striatal neurons during performance of allocentric and egocentric tasks.
Hippocampal and striatal place- and movement-correlated cell firing was recorded as rats performed place or response tasks in a familiar environment, and then after cue manipulation. In a familiar environment, place field properties did not differ across brain structures or task conditions. Movement correlates were stronger during place task performance only in hippocampal neurons. After cue manipulations, place- and movement-sensitive hippocampal and striatal neurons changed their correlate strength, regardless of behavioral strategy. Thus, for both structures, place-correlated cells may encode spatial context information, whereas movement-correlated cells may represent both egocentric movement and learned behavioral responses. The striking overall similarity between hippocampal and striatal neural responses to context manipulation (regardless of strategy) suggests that these structures operate continuously, and in parallel, during multiple forms of learning.