Cooling of medial septum reveals theta phase lag coordination of hippocampal cell assemblies

Summary Hippocampal theta oscillations coordinate neuronal firing to support memory and spatial navigation. The medial septum (MS) is critical in theta generation by two possible mechanisms: either a unitary ‘pacemaker’ timing signal is imposed on the hippocampal system or it may assist in organizing target subcircuits within the phase space of theta oscillations. We used temperature manipulation of the MS to test these models. Cooling of the MS reduced both theta frequency and power, was associated with enhanced incidence of errors in a spatial navigation task but did not affect spatial correlates of neurons. MS cooling decreased theta frequency oscillations of place cells, reduced distance-time compression but preserved distance-phase compression of place field sequences within the theta cycle. Thus, septal computation contributes not only theta pacing but is also critical for sustaining precise theta phase-coordination of cell assemblies in the hippocampus.