Adaptive modulation of theta sweeps in the brain's navigation circuit.

Abstract

Efficient navigation requires prioritizing information from behaviorally relevant locations. In rats, such selective sampling may arise from theta-paced sweeps in grid and place cell populations, which scan nearby space in a left-right alternating pattern coordinated by parasubicular direction signals. This alternation promotes uniform spatial coverage during exploration, but whether sweeps can be flexibly tuned to moment-to-moment demands remains unknown. Using large-scale Neuropixels recordings in freely behaving rats, we show that sweeps and direction signals are rapidly and dynamically modulated: They track moving targets during pursuit, precede orienting responses during immobility, and reverse during backward locomotion-all without prior spatial learning of goal locations. Comparable modulation occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Together, these findings identify sweeps as a flexible, attention-like mechanism for selectively sampling allocentric cognitive maps.