Unveiling the role of the subiculum in processing and routing hippocampal information

Hippocampal formation has a crucial role in learning and memory that is well recognised but the role of the subiculum (SUB) has received  little attention. The SUB occupies a pivotal role between the hippocampus and other cortical areas and it controls and routes most of the hippocampal information. The SUB has been implicated in many diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and epilepsy, however, still little is known about the cellular, molecular and synaptic features of subicular neurons.

We aim to investigate molecular marker genes of different types of subicular pyramidal neurons and to understand the flow of neuronal information from the hippocampus to the neocortex. We hypothesise that VGlut2-expressing subicular pyramidal neurons mediate the interaction between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. By using powerful optogenetic tools we aim to label, identify and manipulate subicular pyramidal neurons.

Our results will be of interest to basic neuroscientists who wish to understand the role of the hippocampus in memory formation, and also to clinicians aiming to understand the cause of cognitive decline in patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.