A MODEL OF SPATIAL MAP FORMATION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF THE RAT

Using experimental facts about long-term potentiation (LTP) and hippoc ampal place cells, we model how a spatial map of the environment can b e created in the rat hippocampus. Sequential firing of place cells dur ing exploration induces, in the model, a pattern of LTP between place cells that shifts the location coded by their ensemble activity away f rom the actual location of the animal. These shifts provide a navigati onal map that, in a simulation of the Morris maze, can guide the anima l toward its goal. The model demonstrates how behaviorally generated m odifications of synaptic strengths can be read out to affect subsequen t behavior. Our results also suggest a way that navigational maps can be constructed from experimental recordings of hippocampal place cells .