An analysis of hippocampal spatio-temporal representations using a Bayesian algorithm for neural spike train decoding

Neural spike train decoding algorithms are important tools for characterizing how ensembles of neurons represent biological signals. We present a Bayesian neural spike train decoding algorithm based on a point process model of individual neurons, a linear stochastic state-space model of the biological signal, and a temporal latency parameter. The latency parameter represents the temporal lead or lag between the biological signal and the ensemble spiking activity. We use the algorithm to study whether the representation of position by the ensemble spiking activity of pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus is more consistent with prospective coding, i.e., future position, or retrospective coding, past position. Using 44 simultaneously recorded neurons and an ensemble delay latency of 400 ms, the median decoding error was 5.1 cm during 10 min of foraging in an open circular environment. The true coverage probability for the algorithm´s 0.95 confidence regions was 0.71. These results illustrate how the Bayesian neural spike train decoding paradigm may be used to investigate spatio-temporal representations of position by an ensemble of hippocampal neurons.