Topic: time cells

The representation of “what happened when” is central to encoding episodic and working memories. Recently discovered hippocampal “time cells” are theorized to provide the neural substrate for such representations by forming distinct sequences that encode both time elapsed and sensory content. However, while multiple neurophysiological studies have presented contradictory results on the role of “time cells” in memory, little work has directly addressed this discrepancy. Here, we hypothesize that this discrepancy is a result of different studies using tasks that involve different cognitive deman

The entorhinal cortex (EC) sits at a critical junction where sensory input and higher-level processing converge and is necessary for learning interval timing and relating durations in distinct temporal contexts[1]. “Time cells” in the medial subdivision of the EC (MEC) tile task durations during a temporal variant of the Delay Non-match to Sample (tDNMS) task in which animals must detect non-matching durations. Over training, subpopulations of MEC time cells become context-dependent showing differential activity across different trial types. While attractor models of EC activity predict experi