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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.02.14.705560

Active pursuit gates egocentric coding in Retrosplenial Cortex

Saldanha, P.·Bjerke, M.·Dunn, B. A.·Whitlock, J. R.
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Abstract

Spatial navigation is commonly studied in static environments, but adaptive behavior frequently hinges on tracking moving goals in real time. Active pursuit exemplifies this challenge: it is an inherently egocentric spatial behavior requiring continuous localization of a moving target, yet the neural coding schemes supporting it remain poorly understood. We therefore performed Neuropixels recordings in the retrosplenial cortex (RSC), a hub for egocentric-to-allocentric reference frame transformations, during naturalistic bait-chasing. We identified head-centered target-encoding neurons that were functionally distinct from cells encoding environmental boundaries or static objects. Whereas egocentric boundary encoding was task-invariant, target-coding cells were specific to chasing and exhibited task-dependent retuning, characterized by enhanced ego-centric representation and reduced allocentric head-direction signaling during pursuit. Together, these findings demonstrate that classical egocentric and allocentric codes coexist with novel target tuning in the RSC, where target-coding neurons dynamically reweight their reference frames according to behavioral demands during pursuit.

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Saldanha, P., Bjerke, M., Dunn, B. A., Whitlock, J. R.. 2026-02-18. Active pursuit gates egocentric coding in Retrosplenial Cortex. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.14.705560

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