eprintid: 10205503
rev_number: 11
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/20/55/03
datestamp: 2025-03-07 13:26:54
lastmod: 2025-03-07 13:26:54
status_changed: 2025-03-07 13:26:54
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Nierwetberg, Svenja
title: A role for hippocampal CA1 in structural learning in mice
ispublished: unpub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: C08
divisions: D75
note: Copyright © The Author 2025.  Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).  Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms.  Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
abstract: The meaning of individual events or cues in the environment is often dependent on their position relative to other cues surrounding them. The ability to learn about relationships between such ambiguous cues – often called structural learning – enables us to recognise common underlying structures of events and is thought to form the basis of episodic memory. 

One area implicated in structural learning is the hippocampus. Specifically, neurons in the CA1 area of the hippocampus have been shown to represent variables such as cue configurations and their order in space and time. To investigate the neural basis of structural learning, we designed an odour-based task that requires mice to learn not only about sets of odour cues, but about their relative order in time. 

Importantly, the task design allows for manipulation of the temporal structure and identity of cues separately, enabling dissociation of their neural mechanisms. Using this task, we found that mice can flexibly use previously learnt relational structures and adapt to both changes in the temporal pattern as well as in cue identity. 

In line with a role for hippocampal circuitry, optogenetic inactivation of ventral CA1 (vCA1) markedly impaired task performance. Using in vivo calcium imaging, we found that vCA1 neurons encode a wide variety of task-relevant information, including maintaining odour identity across the delay and exhibiting context-specific responses to odours. Furthermore, population-level analysis revealed that neurons in vCA1 encode cues and cue combinations more robustly than outcomes.
date: 2025-02-28
date_type: published
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
thesis_class: doctoral_open
thesis_award: Ph.D
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 2365314
lyricists_name: Nierwetberg, Svenja
lyricists_id: SMNIE25
actors_name: Nierwetberg, Svenja
actors_id: SMNIE25
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
pages: 199
institution: UCL (University College London)
department: Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
thesis_type: Doctoral
editors_name: MacAskill, Andrew F
citation:        Nierwetberg, Svenja;      (2025)    A role for hippocampal CA1 in structural learning in mice.                   Doctoral thesis  (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).     Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205503/2/Thesis_SN_ForUpload.pdf