The NC4 lab studies neural representations in the brain, specifically in the hippocampal formation of the mammalian brain. We record these representations as the activity of neurons such as place cells, grid cells and head-direction cells. Our lab investigates how these representations are formed from sensory inputs, how they are flexibly modulated by task demands, sensory availability and behavioural states, and how they contribute to navigation and control of behaviour. We seek to understand the algorithmic basis of spatial navigation - what are the computations that integrate multisensory information from an environment into neural representations, conform representations to task demands, and plan actions within the environment that accomplish tasks?

The brain is a feedback control system, with a plethora of hidden states both persistent and plastic. Higher-order representations in the brain are influenced by sensory inputs and task perception, but are driven primarily through persistent internal dynamics. It is the gradual and continuous perturbation of these neural dynamics through sensory modification which could yield the answer to their structure and function.

Quantifying the algorithmic basis of spatial navigation is a challenge that has implications well beyond understanding how a rat can find its food in a maze. Cognitive representations are integral to learning and memory, and the brain regions housing them are affected through neurodegenerative dementias such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases. Understanding spatial navigation in rodents is key to understanding problem solving and memory in humans, and likely illuminates a path to early detection and better management of chronic degenerative disorders.