Cited by 872Memory and Neural MechanismsNeural dynamics and brain functionSpatial Cognition and Navigation

Theta rhythm of navigation: Link between path integration and landmark navigation, episodic and semantic memory

Buzsáki, György·2005·Hippocampus

Abstract

Five key topics have been reverberating in hippocampal‐entorhinal cortex (EC) research over the past five decades: episodic and semantic memory, path integration (“dead reckoning”) and landmark (“map”) navigation, and theta oscillation. We suggest that the systematic relations between single cell discharge and the activity of neuronal ensembles reflected in local field theta oscillations provide a useful insight into the relationship among these terms. In rats trained to run in direction‐guided (1‐dimensional) tasks, hippocampal cell assemblies discharge sequentially, with different assemblies active on opposite runs, i.e., place cells are unidirectional. Such tasks do not require map representation and are formally identical with learning sequentially occurring items in an episode. Hebbian plasticity, acting within the temporal window of the theta cycle, converts the travel distances into synaptic strengths between the sequentially activated and unidirectionally connected assemblies. In contrast, place representations by hippocampal neurons in 2‐dimensional environments are typically omnidirectional, characteristic of a map. Generation of a map requires exploration, essentially a dead reckoning behavior. We suggest that omnidirectional navigation through the same places (junctions) during exploration gives rise to omnidirectional place cells and, consequently, maps free of temporal context. Analogously, multiple crossings of common junction(s) of episodes convert the common junction(s) into context‐free or semantic memory. Theta oscillation can hence be conceived as the navigation rhythm through both physical and mnemonic space, facilitating the formation of maps and episodic/semantic memories. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Crossref · 10.1002/hipo.20113

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207 of 207 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Theta oscillations are not necessary for the emergence of the place code but play a major role in organizing place cell activity into temporal sequences that map available space and episodic events.

    “Theta oscillations—although not necessary for the emergence of the place code21,22—play a major role in organizing place cell activity into temporal sequences that map the available space (and, similarly, episodic events4,23,24).”
  • Place cells encode the animal's position in an environment and, more generally, events of episodic experience, and have been causally linked to memory functions.

    “These neurons encode the animal’s position in an environment1 and, more generally, events of episodic experience2–4 and have been causally linked to memory functions5–7.”

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Authors
Buzsáki, G.
Affiliations
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
Corresponding author
Buzsáki, György
Venue
Hippocampus
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2005-01
Volume
15
Issue
7
Pages
827-840
ISSN
  • 1050-9631 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-1063
OpenAlex
W2084694708
Cited by
872
References
209
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 58 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 50 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 44 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 49 · 2012: 39
FWCI
2.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Hippocampus (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH054671, MH54671)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS 43157, R01NS043157, R01NS034994, NS-34994)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
Keywords
theta oscillations, path integration, dead reckoning, landmark navigation, map representation, place cells, episodic memory, semantic memory, entorhinal cortex, Hebbian plasticity, neuronal ensembles, exploration
MeSH terms
Animals, Biological Clocks, Hippocampus, Humans, Memory, Neural Pathways, Synaptic Transmission, Neuronal Plasticity, Orientation, Space Perception, Theta Rhythm

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