Cross-talk and transitions between spatial charts in a neuronal model of the hippocampus
Rémi Monasson (LPTENS, Paris)
Understanding the mechanisms by which space gets represented in the brain is a fundamental problem in neuroscience. The experimental discovery of so-called « place cells » and « grid cells », encoding specific positions in space, provide essential elements in this context. How a spatial chart i.e. a relation between different points in space, may be built and memorized? In this talk I will present a model of neural network capable of storing several spatial charts. This model may be solved with the help of the techniques of Statistical Physics of Disordered Systems. We will discuss the different possible phases of the system and the essential features of its dynamics (activated diffusion in one chart and transitions between charts), in relation with recent experiments.