Ventral hippocampus-lateral septum circuitry promotes foraging-related memory

• Published in: Cell reports (Cambridge) 2022-09, Vol.40 (13), p.111402-111402, Article 111402
• Main Authors: Décarie-Spain, Léa, Liu, Clarissa M., Lauer, Logan Tierno, Subramanian, Keshav, Bashaw, Alexander G., Klug, Molly E., Gianatiempo, Isabella H., Suarez, Andrea N., Noble, Emily E., Donohue, Kristen N., Cortella, Alyssa M., Hahn, Joel D., Davis, Elizabeth A., Kanoski, Scott E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: feeding; foraging; GABAergic Neurons; Hippocampus - metabolism; lateral hypothalamus; motivation; Neural Pathways - physiology; prefrontal cortex; reward; Spatial Memory - physiology; Water
• ISSN: 2211-1247; 2211-1247
• DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111402

Remembering the location of a food or water source is essential for survival. Here, we reveal that spatial memory for food location is reflected in ventral hippocampus (HPCv) neuron activity and is impaired by HPCv lesion. HPCv mediation of foraging-related memory involves communication to the lateral septum (LS), as either reversible or chronic disconnection of HPCv-to-LS signaling impairs spatial memory retention for food or water location. This neural pathway selectively encodes appetitive spatial memory, as HPCv-LS disconnection does not affect spatial memory for escape location in a negative reinforcement procedure, food intake, or social and olfactory-based appetitive learning. Neural pathway tracing and functional mapping analyses reveal that LS neurons recruited during the appetitive spatial memory procedure are primarily GABAergic neurons that project to the lateral hypothalamus. Collective results emphasize that the neural substrates controlling spatial memory are outcome specific based on reinforcer modality. [Display omitted] •Ventral hippocampus activity increases during memory retrieval for food location•Ventral CA1-lateral septum circuitry encodes food- and water-based spatial memory•This circuitry does not regulate spatial memory in an escape-based procedure•Ventral CA1-lateral septum foraging circuitry targets the lateral hypothalamus How do hungry or thirsty animals find food or water? Décarie-Spain et al. identify a ventral hippocampus to lateral septum circuit that selectively promotes spatial memory for appetitive-based (food or water) but not aversive-based (escape) reinforcement. These findings identify a neural pathway that selectively encodes foraging-related memory.