Evidence for allocentric boundary and goal direction information in the human entorhinal cortex and subiculum

• Published in: Nature communications 2019-09, Vol.10 (1), p.4004-10, Article 4004
• Main Authors: Shine, J. P., Valdés-Herrera, J. P., Tempelmann, C., Wolbers, T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 59/36; 631/378/1595; 631/378/1595/1554; 631/378/2613; 631/378/2649; Accuracy; Adult; Boundaries; Coding; Connectivity; Cortex (entorhinal); Decoding; Division of labor; Entorhinal Cortex - physiology; Environment; Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - physiology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Learning - physiology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Memory - physiology; multidisciplinary; Rodents; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spatial Navigation; Subiculum; Temporal Lobe; Virtual environments; Vision Disparity - physiology; Visual Perception - physiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11802-9

In rodents, cells in the medial entorhinal cortex (EC) and subiculum code for the allocentric direction to environment boundaries, which is an important prerequisite for accurate positional coding. Although in humans boundary-related signals have been reported, there is no evidence that they contain allocentric direction information. Furthermore, it has not been possible to separate boundary versus goal direction signals in the EC/subiculum. Here, to address these questions, we had participants learn a virtual environment containing four unique boundaries. Participants then underwent fMRI scanning where they made judgements about the allocentric direction of a cue object. Using multivariate decoding, we found information regarding allocentric boundary direction in posterior EC and subiculum, whereas allocentric goal direction was decodable from anterior EC and subiculum. These data provide the first evidence of allocentric boundary coding in humans, and are consistent with recent conceptualisations of a division of labour within the EC. In rodents, cells in the medial entorhinal cortex and subiculum are known to encode the allocentric direction to nearby walls and boundaries. Here, using fMRI the authors show that this is also true in humans, with allocentric boundary direction being encoded in posterior entorhinal cortex and subiculum.