Journal article
Hippocampal theta oscillations are slower in humans than in rodents: implications for models of spatial navigation and memory
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences, v 369(1635), 20130304
05 Feb 2014
PMID: 24366145
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The theta oscillation is a neuroscience enigma. When a rat runs through an environment, large-amplitude theta oscillations (4–10 Hz) reliably appear in the hippocampus's electrical activity. The consistency of this pattern led to theta playing a central role in theories on the neural basis of mammalian spatial navigation and memory. However, in fact, hippocampal oscillations at 4–10 Hz are rare in humans and in some other species. This presents a challenge for theories proposing theta as an essential component of the mammalian brain, including models of place and grid cells. Here, I examine this issue by reviewing recent research on human hippocampal oscillations using direct brain recordings from neurosurgical patients. This work indicates that the human hippocampus does indeed exhibit rhythms that are functionally similar to theta oscillations found in rodents, but that these signals have a slower frequency of approximately 1–4 Hz. I argue that oscillatory models of navigation and memory derived from rodent data are relevant for humans, but that they should be modified to account for the slower frequency of the human theta rhythm.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- Hippocampal theta oscillations are slower in humans than in rodents: implications for models of spatial navigation and memory
- Creators
- Joshua Jacobs (Corresponding Author) - Drexel University, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems
- Publication Details
- Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences, v 369(1635), 20130304
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000332465300021
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84906921433
- Other Identifier
- 991019173798604721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Biology