Synaptic Plasticity and Place Cell Formation

Place cells of the hippocampus are a prime model system for studying neural plasticity of cognitive representations. These cells fire specifically when a rat occupies a particular location in the environment. Neural plasticity is not necessary for these cells to display their spatial specificity. However, plasticity plays a fundamental role in organizing these place cells into adaptive and stable representations. Thus, rats with deficits in neural plasticity have place fields that tend to be unstable between visits to the same environment. Conversely, place fields in these rats tend to remain inappropriately stable and unable to represent new information when the environment is altered.