Retrosplenial cortical representations of space and future goal locations develop with learning

The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is important for long-term contextual memory and spatial navigation, but little is known about how RSC neural representations develop with experience. We recorded neuronal activity in the RSC of rats as they learned a continuous spatial alternation task and found that the RSC slowly developed a population-level representation of the rat’s spatial location and current trajectory to the goal. After the rats reached peak performance, RSC firing patterns became predictive of navigation accuracy and even began to represent the upcoming goal location as the rats approached the choice point. These neural representations emerged at the same time that lesions impaired performance, suggesting that the RSC gradually acquired task representations that contribute to navigational decision-making.