Accurate navigation is thought to depend on neural representations of location and directional heading, which are carried by head direction cells, place cells, and grid cells. Head direction cells depend more heavily [than place cells] on signals from the otolith organs, but no studies have investigated the otolithic contribution to grid cell activity. Spatial deficits associated with otolith dysfunction may therefore result from disrupted head direction and/or grid cell activity. The proposed studies will test the otolithic contributionto entorhinal cortical grid cell activity during visual and non-visual navigation tasks. Results will provide important insight into the roles of vestibular information in neural representations of space, and the roles of these representations in navigation. A thorough understanding of the vestibular contribution to neural representations of space may enable new treatment approaches for cognitive deficits resulting from vestibular pathology.

Public Health Relevance

Disorientation is a debilitating condition that can occur in many pathologies, including dementia, Alzheimer's disease, drug abuse, etc. Understanding the brain mechanisms that contribute to disorientation will advance our ability to treat or prevent thi component of these disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) (R15)
Project #
2R15DC012630-02
Application #
8958220
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Platt, Christopher
Project Start
2012-07-05
Project End
2018-08-31
Budget Start
2015-09-01
Budget End
2018-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Purdue University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
072051394
City
West Lafayette
State
IN
Country
United States
Zip Code
47907
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Blankenship, Philip A; Cherep, Lucia A; Donaldson, Tia N et al. (2017) Otolith dysfunction alters exploratory movement in mice. Behav Brain Res 325:1-11
Yoder, Ryan M; Goebel, Elizabeth A; Köppen, Jenny R et al. (2015) Otolithic information is required for homing in the mouse. Hippocampus 25:890-9
Yoder, Ryan M; Taube, Jeffrey S (2014) The vestibular contribution to the head direction signal and navigation. Front Integr Neurosci 8:32
Yoder, Ryan M; Kirby, Seth L (2014) Otoconia-deficient mice show selective spatial deficits. Hippocampus 24:1169-77