Human hippocampal and entorhinal neurons encode the temporal structure of experience

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Tacikowski, Pawel; Kalender, Guldamla; Ciliberti, Davide; Fried, Itzhak
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; Karolinska Institutet; Universidade de Coimbra; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; Tel Aviv University; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Otto von Guericke University
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-3681
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07973-1
• 发表日期: 2024-11-07
• 关键词: single-neuron; cognitive maps; spatial map; memory; replay; SEQUENCES; REPRESENTATIONS; recordings; KNOWLEDGE; cells

摘要

Extracting the underlying temporal structure of experience is a fundamental aspect of learning and memory that allows us to predict what is likely to happen next. Current knowledge about the neural underpinnings of this cognitive process in humans stems from functional neuroimaging research1-5. As these methods lack direct access to the neuronal level, it remains unknown how this process is computed by neurons in the human brain. Here we record from single neurons in individuals who have been implanted with intracranial electrodes for clinical reasons, and show that human hippocampal and entorhinal neurons gradually modify their activity to encode the temporal structure of a complex image presentation sequence. This representation was formed rapidly, without providing specific instructions to the participants, and persisted when the prescribed experience was no longer present. Furthermore, the structure recovered from the population activity of hippocampal-entorhinal neurons closely resembled the structural graph defining the sequence, but at the same time, also reflected the probability of upcoming stimuli. Finally, learning of the sequence graph was related to spontaneous, time-compressed replay of individual neurons' activity corresponding to previously experienced graph trajectories. These findings demonstrate that neurons in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex integrate the 'what' and 'when' information to extract durable and predictive representations of the temporal structure of human experience. Single-neuron recordings from intracranial electrodes inserted into human brains for clinical reasons suggest that the temporal structure of human experience is encoded in human hippocampal and entorhinal neurons.