Episode 328 - Place Cells and Spatial Imagination

On March 26, 2026, we held our annual UTSA Neuroscience Symposium entitled "From Place Cells to Cognition", featuring 5 speakers presenting original research on the cognitive functions of hippocampal place cells. They discussed the firing patterns of place cells during exploration of cognitive maps, anticipating future movements, recall of previously visited locations, and imagining the movement of objects in the environment. After the symposium, I met with the speakers to review some of the themes that emerged throughout the day.Speakers:Francesco Savelli, Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSAAnnabelle Singer, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory UniversityAlbert Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard UniversityJill Leutgeb, Professor, Department of Neurobiology, University of California San DiegoKamran Diba, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of MichiganHost:Charles Wilson, Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, UTSAThanks to James Tepper for original music