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The orbitofrontal cortex maps future navigational goals

Author

Listed:
  • Raunak Basu

    (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research)

  • Robert Gebauer

    (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research)

  • Tim Herfurth

    (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research)

  • Simon Kolb

    (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research)

  • Zahra Golipour

    (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research)

  • Tatjana Tchumatchenko

    (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research
    Life and Brain Center, Universitätsklinikum Bonn)

  • Hiroshi T. Ito

    (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research)

Abstract

Accurate navigation to a desired goal requires consecutive estimates of spatial relationships between the current position and future destination throughout the journey. Although neurons in the hippocampal formation can represent the position of an animal as well as its nearby trajectories1–7, their role in determining the destination of the animal has been questioned8,9. It is, thus, unclear whether the brain can possess a precise estimate of target location during active environmental exploration. Here we describe neurons in the rat orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) that form spatial representations persistently pointing to the subsequent goal destination of an animal throughout navigation. This destination coding emerges before the onset of navigation, without direct sensory access to a distal goal, and even predicts the incorrect destination of an animal at the beginning of an error trial. Goal representations in the OFC are maintained by destination-specific neural ensemble dynamics, and their brief perturbation at the onset of a journey led to a navigational error. These findings suggest that the OFC is part of the internal goal map of the brain, enabling animals to navigate precisely to a chosen destination that is beyond the range of sensory perception.

Suggested Citation

  • Raunak Basu & Robert Gebauer & Tim Herfurth & Simon Kolb & Zahra Golipour & Tatjana Tchumatchenko & Hiroshi T. Ito, 2021. "The orbitofrontal cortex maps future navigational goals," Nature, Nature, vol. 599(7885), pages 449-452, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:599:y:2021:i:7885:d:10.1038_s41586-021-04042-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04042-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Huixin Lin & Jingfeng Zhou, 2024. "Hippocampal and orbitofrontal neurons contribute to complementary aspects of associative structure," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Toon Van de Maele & Bart Dhoedt & Tim Verbelen & Giovanni Pezzulo, 2024. "A hierarchical active inference model of spatial alternation tasks and the hippocampal-prefrontal circuit," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, December.

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