Complex space
Much of the neurobiologcial work on how the brain represents space has been undertaken in simplified laboratory environments, but the real world is much more complex - in particular it is multi-compartmented and three-dimensional. Several research projects in my lab in recent years have been exploring how the brain makes sense of these spaces. We have been recording the spatial coding neurons in environments with multiple compartments, and also encouraging (with difficulty!) rats to climb walls and 3D mazes.
To make sure our animals have the necessary experience to represent 3D space as they would in the wild, we have been housing them in “The Parrot Cage” - a large aviary filled with climbing spparatus that gives them opportunities to climb and explore (see video below).
Relevant publications
Casali, G, Bush, D and Jeffery, KJ (2019) Altered neural odometry in the vertical dimension PNAS
Page H, Wilson J, Jeffery KJ (2017) A proposed rule for updating of the head direction cell reference frame following rotations in three dimensions J Neurophysiol doi: 10.1152/jn.00501.2017 pdf
Kim M, Jeffery KJ, Maguire EA (2017) Multivoxel pattern analysis reveals isotropic 3D place representations in the human hippocampus. Journal of Neuroscience, 7(16):4270-4279. pdf
Jacob P-Y J, Casali G, Spieser L, Overington DWU, Page H, Jeffery KJ (2017) An independent, landmark-dominated head direction signal in dysgranular retrosplenial cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 20, 173-175 doi: 10.1038/nn.4465 pdf supp
Jeffery KJ, Wilson JJ, Casali G, Hayman R (2015) Neural encoding of large-scale three-dimensional space - properties and constraints. Frontiers in Psychology, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00927 pdf
Hayman R, Casali G, Wilson J, Jeffery KJ (2015) Grid cells on steeply sloping terrain: evidence for planar rather than volumetric encoding Frontiers in Psychology, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00925 pdf
Wilson JJ, Harding E, Fortier M, James B, Donnett M, Kerslake A, O'Leary A, Zhang N, Jeffery KJ (2015) Spatial learning by mice in three dimensions. Behavioral Brain Research 289:125-132 doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.04.035 pdf
Carpenter F, Manson D, Jeffery KJ, Burgess N, Barry C (2015) Grid cells form a global representation of connected environments. Current Biology, 25(9): 1176-1182 pdf supp
Jeffery KJ, Jovalekic A, Verriotis M and Hayman R (2013) Navigating in a three-dimensional world. Target article and Discussion in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36(5) 523-543 pdf
Spiers HJ, Hayman RM, Jovalekic A, Marozzi E and Jeffery KJ (2013) Place field repetition and purely local remapping in a multi-compartment environment. Cerebral Cortex, 25(1):10-25.doi: 10.1093/cercor/bht198 pdf
Hayman R, Verriotis M, Jovalekic A, Fenton A and Jeffery KJ (2011) Anisotropic encoding of three-dimensional space by place cells and grid cells. Nature Neuroscience, 14(9):1182-8 pdf supp
Jovalekic A, Hayman R, Becares N, Reid H, Thomas G, Wilson J, Jeffery KJ (2011) Horizontal biases in rats’ use of three-dimensional space. Behavioural Brain Research, 222: 279-288 pdf
Jeffery, KJ, Anand, RL and Anderson, MI (2006) A role for terrain slope in orienting hippocampal place fields. Experimental Brain Research,169(2):218-25 pdf