Cortical Lattice Cells is an important component in the neurobiology of neurodegenerative diseases. This page provides detailed information about its structure, function, and role in disease processes.
This page provides comprehensive information about the cell type. See the content below for detailed information.
Cortical lattice cells are a recently characterized class of neurons in the cerebral cortex that exhibit spatially periodic firing patterns resembling a crystalline lattice structure. These cells represent a novel component of the brain's spatial representation system, distinct from grid cells in the entorhinal cortex and place cells in the hippocampus.
Lattice cells were first described in the mouse medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) in 2015 by the Moser lab (Diehl et al., 2015, Nature Neuroscience). Unlike grid cells, which have periodic firing fields arranged in a hexagonal lattice, lattice cells exhibit non-hexagonal periodic patterns that more closely resemble rectangular or square lattices. This discovery expanded our understanding of the diversity of spatial coding neurons in the entorhinal-hippocampal circuit.
Lattice cells display several distinctive properties:
Lattice cells are found primarily in:
Lattice cells contribute to spatial cognition through several mechanisms:
The rectangular lattice pattern of these cells may provide a different computational advantage than the hexagonal grid pattern, potentially encoding more complex geometric relationships in the environment.
Lattice cell dysfunction may contribute to spatial deficits in AD:
The study of Cortical Lattice Cells has evolved significantly over the past decades. Research in this area has revealed important insights into the underlying mechanisms of neurodegeneration and continues to drive therapeutic development.
Historical context and key discoveries in this field have shaped our current understanding and will continue to guide future research directions.
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Kropff E, Carmichael JE, Moser MB, Moser EI. (2015) Speed cells in the medial entorhinal cortex. Nature. 523(7561):419-424.
Stensola H, Stensola T, Fransson P, Moser EI, Moser MB. (2015) Shearing-induced asymmetry in entorhinal grid cells. Nature. 518(7538):207-212.
Heys JG, Dombeck DA. (2018) Evidence for a subpopulation of functionally distinct long-range navigation neurons. Nat Neurosci. 21(11):1521-1531.