Mechanistic flexibility of the retrosplenial cortex enables its contribution to spatial cognition.

The retrosplenial cortex (RC) is a brain structure crucial for spatial navigation and memory. It contains neurons such as head direction cells, border cells, as well as other cells supporting spatial and contextual encoding. How such complex and diverse neuronal properties are generated by RC microcircuitry and how they jointly orchestrate subsequent behavior remains enigmatic. Here, we consider recent findings that extend current knowledge about how the RC modulates spatial navigation and spatial cognition. We argue that the integrative properties of RC allow the combination of idiothetic cues, spatial relations (allocentric and egocentric), and environmental features (landmarks, boundaries, etc.) into a spatial map that can dynamically support goal-directed navigation. Furthermore, the mnemonic functions of RC suggest its possible role in autobiographical information storage. The rodent retrosplenial cortex (RC) integrates different types of idiothetic and allocentric information, including locomotion, head direction, animal position, and landmark information to support spatial cognition. It also integrates and anticipates reward and reinforcement information. Navigation and memory storage is supported by multiple, functionally distinct, neuronal populations in the RC. These neuronal populations also create neuronal ensembles that represent memories induced by spatial or associative learning. The RC serves as an integrative hub where idiothetic and allocentric information is assimilated in a context-dependent manner. This property of the RC supports its dynamic flexibility in the interpretation of sensory information during spatial navigation and memory encoding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]