A time-stamp mechanism may provide temporal information necessary for egocentric to allocentric spatial transformations

Abstract
Data availability
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Abstract

Learning the spatial organization of the environment is essential for most animals' survival. This requires the animal to derive allocentric spatial information from egocentric sensory and motor experience. The neural mechanisms underlying this transformation are mostly unknown. We addressed this problem in electric fish, which can precisely navigate in complete darkness and whose brain circuitry is relatively simple. We conducted the first neural recordings in the preglomerular complex, the thalamic region exclusively connecting the optic tectum with the spatial learning circuits in the dorsolateral pallium. While tectal topographic information was mostly eliminated in preglomerular neurons, the time-intervals between object encounters were precisely encoded. We show that this reliable temporal information, combined with a speed signal, can permit accurate estimation of the distance between encounters, a necessary component of path-integration that enables computing allocentric spatial relations. Our results suggest that similar mechanisms are involved in sequential spatial learning in all vertebrates.

Data availability

Datasets and analysis files have been deposited in Columbia University's Academic Commons repository (https://doi.org/10.7916/D86Q3F7S).

The following data sets were generated

(2018) Data for: A time-stamp mechanism may provide temporal information necessary for egocentric to allocentric spatial transformations
Columbia Academic Commons, doi:10.7916/D86Q3F7S.

https://doi.org/10.7916/D86Q3F7S

Article and author information

Author details

Avner Wallach

Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

For correspondence
aw3057@columbia.edu

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-2345-2942
Erik Harvey-Girard

Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
James Jaeyoon Jun

Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
André Longtin

Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Len Maler

Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-7666-2754

Funding

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (121891-2009)

André Longtin

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (49510)

André Longtin
Len Maler

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (147489-2017)

Len Maler

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Ethics

Animal experimentation: All procedures were approved by the University of Ottawa Animal Care and follow guidelines established by the Society for Neuroscience (approved protocol number:CMM-2897)

Copyright

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.