How do environmental boundaries influence place-cell activity?

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Patient H.M. and short-term memory loss explained — hippocampus Learn about Henry Molaison (better known as “patient H.M.”), whose short-term memory loss following a lobotomy helped researchers to understand how brain structures are related to brain function.

In the hippocampus, place cells function by increasing their firing rate when an animal enters a specific location, known as a place field. The preferred firing location of these cells is often determined by information regarding the distance and direction to environmental boundaries.1

This process is supported by boundary cells, which are located in brain regions that provide input to the hippocampus. These cells increase their firing at a preferred distance from a specific boundary. Consequently, the activity of a small number of boundary cells can provide the necessary spatial information to influence place cells to fire in their preferred locations.1