Mathematics Colloquia and Seminars

Return to Colloquia & Seminar listing

Description

Grid cells are neurons in the brain that encode space using an intriguing periodic representation—each grid cell is active when an animal’s position is at the vertices of a hexagonal lattice, and different grid cells correspond to lattices with different periods, orientations and phases. Grid cells have attracted extensive popular and scientific interest, including a Nobel Prize for their discovery, and their functional roles are currently a matter of vigorous debate.   In this talk, I will first present a brief introduction to grid cells and their modeling. I will then contrast two theories of grid cell function, one arguing that they form a coordinate system for physical and abstract spaces, and the second suggesting that they allow the brain to encode large numbers of memories while minimizing interference. I will use a combination of models and analyses of neural data to provide evidence in support of the second theory,  and then present a partial reconciliation of the two theoretical perspectives by contrasting local and global maps of space.