Spaces and sequences in the hippocampus: a homological perspective

TL;DR

This study applies path homology theory to analyze sequential activity patterns in the hippocampus during spatial navigation, revealing stable, short-sequence-based ordinal schemas that complement topological spatial representations.

Contribution

It introduces a homological approach to quantify and compare sequential activity in the hippocampus, highlighting the dominance of short activity motifs in spatial learning.

Findings

Most sequences are structurally similar during navigation.

A few distinct sequence classes form stable ordinal schemas.

Short sequences dominate hippocampal activity and are stable over learning timescales.

Abstract

Topological techniques have become a popular tool for studying information flows in neural networks. In particular, simplicial homology theory is used to analyze how cognitive representations of space emerge from large conglomerates of independent neuronal contributions. Meanwhile, a growing number of studies suggest that many cognitive functions are sustained by serial patterns of activity. Here, we investigate stashes of such patterns using path homology theory -- an impartial, universal approach that does not require a priori assumptions about the sequences' nature, functionality, underlying mechanisms, or other contexts. We focus on the hippocampus -- a key enabler of learning and memory in mammalian brains -- and quantify the ordinal arrangement of its activity similarly to how its topology has previously been studied in terms of simplicial homologies. The results reveal that the vast majority of sequences produced during spatial navigation are structurally equivalent to one another. Only a few classes of distinct sequences form an ordinal schema of serial activity that remains stable as the pool of sequences consolidates. Importantly, the structure of both maps is upheld by combinations of short sequences, suggesting that brief activity motifs dominate physiological computations. This ordinal organization emerges and stabilizes on timescales characteristic of spatial learning, displaying similar dynamics. Yet, the ordinal maps generally do not reflect topological affinities -- spatial and sequential analyses address qualitatively different aspects of spike flows, representing two complementary formats of information processing.