A stable hippocampal code in freely flying bats.

ABSTRACT

Neural activity in the hippocampus is known to reflect how animals move through an environment1,2. Although navigational behaviour may show considerable stability3-6, the tuning stability of individual hippocampal neurons remains unclear7-12. Here we used wireless calcium imaging to longitudinally monitor the activity of dorsal CA1 hippocampal neurons in freely flying bats performing highly reproducible flights in a familiar environment. We find that both the participation and the spatial selectivity of most neurons remain stable over days and weeks. We also find that apparent changes in tuning can be largely attributed to variations in the flight behaviour of the bats. Finally, we show that bats navigating in the same environment under different room lighting conditions (lights on versus lights off) exhibit substantial changes in flight behaviour that can give the illusion of neuronal instability. However, when similar flight paths are compared across conditions, the stability of the hippocampal code persists. Taken together, we show that the underlying hippocampal code is highly stable over days and across contexts if behaviour is taken into account.