近日，美国西北大学教授Daniel A. Dombeck及其小组揭示了海马体表征在稳定的多感觉环境中漂移。2025年7月23日出版的《自然》发表了这项成果。

在这里，课题组以多感官虚拟现实系统提供的实验控制为主题，以确定感官环境或行为的差异不会明显改变漂移率。研究小组还发现，单个位置细胞的兴奋性最能预测它们在随后几天的代表性漂移，更容易兴奋的细胞表现出更少的漂移。这些发现表明，即使在具有高度可重复性的环境和行为的小鼠中，表征漂移也会发生，并强调神经元兴奋性是长期表征稳定性的关键因素。

据悉，通过追踪在相同真实环境中行走的老鼠的海马体位置细胞的实验发现，在一段时间内，神经表征发生了显著变化。然而，这种“表征漂移”是否具有内在功能，例如区分发生在不同时间的相似体验，或者由于感觉环境或行为的微妙差异而被观察到，仍未得到解决。

附：英文原文

Title: Hippocampal representations drift in stable multisensory environments

Author: Climer, Jason R., Davoudi, Heydar, Oh, Jun Young, Dombeck, Daniel A.

Issue&Volume: 2025-07-23

Abstract: Experiments that track hippocampal place cells in mice navigating the same real environment have found significant changes in neural representations over a period of days1,2. However, whether such ‘representational drift’ serves an intrinsic function, such as distinguishing similar experiences that occur at different times3,4, or is instead observed due to subtle differences in the sensory environment or behaviour5,6,7, remains unresolved. Here we used the experimental control offered by a multisensory virtual reality system to determine that differences in sensory environment or behaviour do not detectably change drift rate. We also found that the excitability of individual place cells was most predictive of their representational drift over subsequent days, with more excitable cells exhibiting less drift. These findings establish that representational drift occurs in mice even with highly reproducible environments and behaviour and highlight neuronal excitability as a key factor of long-term representational stability.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09245-y

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09245-y