Uncovering behavior-dependent entorhinal maps with state space models

The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), the brain’s “inner GPS”, contains an internal map of external space. Rather than representing a static spatial map, however, MEC neurons can spontaneously switch between multiple maps (Low et al., 2021). In this project, we will investigate if spontaneous map switches reflect changes in an animal’s latent internal state. We will combine multi-camera behavioral tracking at state-of-the-art spatiotemporal resolutions with latent variable models of the animals’ behavior during navigation. With experimental innovations and fine-scaled behavioral models, we propose to study how behavior may drive entorhinal map switches.