Hippocampal and prefrontal cortical mechanisms for goal-directed and memory-guided behavior

Mechanisms of memory-guided behavior were analyzed in a simulation of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex which guided movements of a virtual rat in virtual tasks including goal directed movement in the open field, a circular track task, and spatial alternation task. In these tasks, hippocampal circuits mediate retrieval from episodic memory. Possible episodes are retrieved in entorhinal cortex and the interaction with temporal context from dentate gyrus and region CA3 allows selection of specific episodes in CA1. Episodic retrieval allows selection of correct goal-directed movement by prefrontal cortex circuits. Network activity replicates current source density during theta rhythm, as well as theta phase precession and context sensitivity of place cells.