Spatial-area selective retrieval of multiple objectplace associations in a hierarchical cognitive map formed by theta phase coding
The human cognitive map is known to be hierarchically organized consisting of a set of perceptually clustered landmarks. Patient studies have demonstrated that these cognitive maps are maintained by the hippocampus, while the neural dynamics are still poorly understood. The authors have shown that the neural dynamic theta phase precession observed in the rodent hippocampus may be capable of forming hierarchical cognitive maps in humans. In the model, a visual input sequence consisting of object and scene features in the central and peripheral visual fields, respectively, results in the formation of a hierarchical cognitive map for objectplace associations. Surprisingly, it is possible for such a complex memory structure to be formed in a few seconds. In this paper, we evaluate the memory retrieval of objectplace associations in the hierarchical network formed by theta phase precession. The results show that multiple objectplace associations can be retrieved with the initial cue of a scene input. Importantly, according to the wide-to-narrow unidirectional connections among scene units, the spatial area for objectplace retrieval can be controlled by the spatial area of the initial cue input. These results indicate that the hierarchical cognitive maps have computational advantages on a spatial-area selective retrieval of multiple objectplace associations. Theta phase precession dynamics is suggested as a fundamental neural mechanism of the human cognitive map.
hippocampus model synaptic plasticity episodic memory synchronization