Our new paper is out in @nature.com! We uncovered how a naked mole-rat queen 👑 controls an entire colony: a natural contraceptive scent that suppresses reproduction in other females! A remarkable mammalian parallel to bees and ants! 🐝🐜 @garyrlewin.bsky.social youtu.be/enfv3zJrWKM?...

And much more in the paper, e.g.: · MEC inputs often encoded multiple objects, while GCs preferentially encoded single objects · Running speed information is conveyed by MEC (not LEC) inputs and is sparsely represented in GCs

3/ LEC and MEC deliver very different information to the DG. In a multisensory VR task, we found a striking division of labor: · LEC→DG: mainly odor · MEC→DG: objects, reward, space · GCs: integrate and converge these streams into multimodal, highly specific representations

2/ Accordingly, decoding of spatial location and context improves over days in GCs but not in EC inputs:

1/ Entorhinal inputs are fast while DG codes are slow to emerge. Representations in LEC/MEC emerged rapidly, already on day 1, and stayed relatively stable. In contrast, DG granule cell representations improved gradually across days of experience:

We show that the dentate gyrus (DG) does not simply relay entorhinal inputs. Instead, it gradually transforms LEC/MEC signals into sparse, highly specific and reliable multimodal representations of the environment.

We combined longitudinal 2-photon calcium imaging of LEC axons, MEC axons, and DG granule cells (GCs) in mice navigating virtual environments over 5 consecutive days. This allowed us to compare cortical inputs and hippocampal output directly.

I’m happy to share our new paper (with @mbartos.bsky.social) now out in Nature Neuroscience: "The dentate gyrus efficiently converges LEC and MEC inputs into multimodal, highly specific and reliable environmental representations" Download it @ rdcu.be/famDE More below 🧵

IN-CODE Symposium 2026: “Inhibitory neurons – from synapses & microcircuits to behavior”. Join us in Freiburg, Germany, on October 8–9, 2026!!! Learn more and register here: sfb-trr384.de/symposium/ #neuroscience #interneurons

Are you interested in drifting place cells and the paradox of stable spatial maps? We have uploaded a new preprint: We find coordinated drifting in CA1. Very happy about this collaboration w/ @olechsylte.bsky.social, Marlene Bartos and @jf-sauer.bsky.social 👇👇👇