A distributed circuit for associating environmental context to motor choice in retrosplenial cortex

During navigation, animals often use recognition of familiar environmental contexts to guide motor action selection. The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) receives inputs from both visual cortex and subcortical regions required for spatial memory, and projects to motor planning regions. However, it is not known whether RSC is important for associating familiar environmental contexts with specific motor actions. Here, we test this possibility by developing a task in which trajectories are chosen based on the context. We find that mice exhibit differential pre-decision activity in RSC, and that optogenetic suppression of RSC activity impairs task performance. Individual RSC neurons encode a range of task variables, often multiplexed with distinct temporal profiles. However, the responses are spatiotemporally organized, with task variables represented along a posterior-to-anterior gradient along RSC during the behavioral performance, consistent with histological characterization. These results reveal an anatomically-organized retrosplenial cortical circuit for associating environmental contexts to appropriate motor outputs.The readme.txt file describes variables, units of measurement, procedures, and relationships between files. Funding provided by: Harvey Karp Discovery Award*Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: Funding provided by: UC MEXUS-CONACYT 648 Postdoctoral Fellowship*Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: Funding provided by: National Institutes of HealthCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000002Award Number: R00MH104259Funding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001Award Number: 1707287Funding provided by: Hellman Fellows Fund*Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: Funding provided by: Larry L. Hillblom FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100001167Award Number: Funding provided by: Whitehall FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100001391Award Number:The methods for data collection and processing are described in the associated manuscript