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Peer-reviewedCC BYNature Neuroscience

Goal-directed hippocampal theta sweeps during memory-guided navigation

  • Wenbo Tang1,2
  • Xiyu Mei1,2
  • Ryan E. Harvey1,2
  • Estrella Carbajal-Leon1,2
  • Talia Netzer1,2
  • Hongyu Chang1,2
  • Azahara Oliva1,2
  • Antonio Fernández‐Ruiz3,2
  1. 1Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
  2. 2Cornell University. Department of Neurobiology and Behavior
  3. 3Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. [email protected]
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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 animal's 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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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{tang2026goaldirected,
  title = {{Goal-directed hippocampal theta sweeps during memory-guided navigation}},
  author = {Wenbo Tang and Xiyu Mei and Ryan E. Harvey and Estrella Carbajal-Leon and Talia Netzer and Hongyu Chang and Azahara Oliva and Antonio Fernández‐Ruiz},
  journal = {Nature Neuroscience},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s41593-026-02364-3},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-026-02364-3},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Goal-directed hippocampal theta sweeps during memory-guided navigation
AU  - Wenbo Tang
AU  - Xiyu Mei
AU  - Ryan E. Harvey
AU  - Estrella Carbajal-Leon
AU  - Talia Netzer
AU  - Hongyu Chang
AU  - Azahara Oliva
AU  - Antonio Fernández‐Ruiz
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/01
JO  - Nature Neuroscience
DO  - 10.1038/s41593-026-02364-3
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-026-02364-3
AB  - 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 animal's 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.
SN  - 1097-6256
SN  - 1546-1726
ER  -