To investigate the role of synaptic plasticity in the place-specific f
iring of the hippocampus, we have applied multiple electrode recording
techniques to freely behaving mice with a CA1 pyramidal cell-specific
knockout of the NMDAR1 gene. We have discovered that although the CA1
pyramidal cells of these mice retain place-related activity, there is
a significant decrease in the spatial specificity of individual place
fields. We have also found a striking deficit in the coordinated firi
ng of pairs of neurons tuned to similar spatial locations. Pairs have
uncorrelated firing even if their fields overlap. These results demons
trate that NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity is necessary for
the proper representation of space in the CA1 region of the hippocamp
us.