Reorganization of CA1 dendritic dynamics by hippocampal sharp-wave ripples during learning

Abstract

The hippocampus plays a critical role in memory consolidation, mediated by coordinated network activity during sharp-wave ripple (SWR) events. Despite the link between SWRs and hippocampal plasticity, little is known about how network state affects information processing in dendrites, the primary sites of synaptic input integration and plasticity. Here, we monitored somatic and basal dendritic activity in CA1 pyramidal cells in behaving mice using longitudinal two-photon calcium imaging integrated with simultaneous local field potential recordings. We found immobility was associated with an increase in dendritic activity concentrated during SWRs. Coincident dendritic and somatic activity during SWRs predicted increased coupling during subsequent exploration of a novel environment. In contrast, somatic-dendritic coupling and SWR recruitment varied with cells' tuning distance to reward location during a goal-learning task. Our results connect SWRs with the stabilization of information processing within CA1 neurons and suggest that these mechanisms may be dynamically biased by behavioral demands.