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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.08.26.672489

Goal-directed hippocampal theta sweeps during memory-guided navigation

Tang, W.·Mei, X.·Harvey, R. E.·Carbajal-Leon, E.·Netzer, T.·Chang, H.·Oliva, A.·Fernandez Ruiz, A.
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Abstract

During navigation, animals continually sample their surrounding space and plan routes to distant goals. The brain mechanisms underlying these behaviors and how they coordinate to support memory-guided navigation in open environments are not understood. Using large-scale recordings in rats, we found two distinct types of place cell sequences within theta cycles that encoded trajectories sweeping beyond the animals location: stereotypic left-right alternating sweeps and learning-dependent goal-directed sweeps. Goal-directed sweeps predicted upcoming trajectories to remembered goal locations, were coordinated with prefrontal cortex activity and preferentially replayed during sharp-wave ripples. We further describe a circuit mechanism in which a subpopulation of CA1 cells encodes egocentric goal direction, combined with reduced feedback inhibition, to generate goal-directed theta sweeps. These results indicate a flexible mechanism to support different behavioral demands during navigation.

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Tang, W., Mei, X., Harvey, R. E., Carbajal-Leon, E., Netzer, T., Chang, H., Oliva, A., Fernandez Ruiz, A.. 2025-08-26. Goal-directed hippocampal theta sweeps during memory-guided navigation. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.26.672489

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