Study author Wenhui Zong, Ph.D.
Hot Off the Press – August 21, 2025
Published in Nature Neuroscience by Wenhui Zong and Geoffrey Schoenbaum, et al. of the NIDA IRP Behavioral Neurophysiology Neuroscience Section.
Summary
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus (HC) are both thought to contribute to the construction of cognitive maps and their generalization into schemas, yet the nature of their interaction remains uncertain. Some accounts propose a serial model, in which the OFC relies on HC-derived task representations to extract key behavioral features. Others argue for a parallel model, where both regions independently generate representations emphasizing different types of information. In this study, we directly tested these competing frameworks by examining how schema-related activity in rat OFC was altered when HC output was disrupted—specifically through inactivation of the ventral subiculum—after learning and during transfer to new problems. We found that post-learning inactivation left the prevalence and content of schema correlates in OFC unchanged, whereas inactivation during transfer accelerated their emergence. These findings support the view that the OFC and HC function in parallel, each contributing distinct features to the construction of cognitive maps and schemas.
Publication Information
Hippocampal output suppresses orbitofrontal cortex schema cell formation Journal Article
In: Nat Neurosci, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 1048–1060, 2025, ISSN: 1546-1726.
