Inhibitory hippocampus-medial septum projection controls locomotion and exploratory behavior

Yuh Tarng Chen, Rachel Arano, Jun Guo, Uzair Saleem, Ying Li, Wei Xu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although the hippocampus is generally considered a cognitive center for spatial representation, learning, and memory, increasing evidence supports its roles in regulating locomotion. However, the neuronal mechanisms of the hippocampal regulation of locomotion and exploratory behavior remain unclear. In this study, we found that the inhibitory hippocampal synaptic projection to the medial septum (MS) bi-directionally controls the locomotor speed of mice. The activation of the MS-projecting interneurons in the hippocampus or the activation of the hippocampus-originated inhibitory synaptic terminals in the MS decreased locomotion and exploratory behavior. On the other hand, the inhibition of the hippocampus-originated inhibitory synaptic terminals in the MS increased locomotion. Unlike the septal projecting interneurons, the activation of the hippocampal interneurons projecting to the retrosplenial cortex did not change animal locomotion. Therefore, this study reveals a specific long-range inhibitory synaptic output from the hippocampus to the medial septum in the regulation of animal locomotion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number1042858
JournalFrontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience
Volume15
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

Keywords

  • GABAergic interneuron
  • exploratory behavior
  • hippocampus
  • inhibitory synapse
  • locomotion
  • septum

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology

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