ArticleNature neuroscience2026
Hippocampal theta sweeps indicate goal direction during navigation.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Dorsoventral gradient of theta sweeps in the medial entorhinal cortex.Science advances · 2026Article
- Decoding Medial Entorhinal Cortical Dynamics Produces Planning-Like Alternations in Hippocampal theta Sequences.Hippocampus · 2026Article
- Cognitive maps as a medium for thought.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2026Review
- Path Integration in Alzheimer's Disease: Orientation, Movement, and Theta Rhythmicity.Annual review of neuroscience · 2026Review
- Naturalistic behavior and self-generated neural activity predictive of self-correction.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Human hippocampal theta-gamma coupling coordinates sequential planning during navigation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Dynamical modulation of hippocampal replay through firing rate adaptation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Successful spatial navigation requires rapid evaluation of potential future trajectories. Hippocampal 'theta sweeps', the sequential activation of place cells within individual theta cycles, exhibit predictive dynamics within the ideal timeframe for this role. However, whether these sequences reflect movement-related variables, perceptual targets or more cognitive goal-directed planning remains unresolved. Using data from the 'Honeycomb' maze, which dissociates head, movement and goal directions, we found that theta sweeps form vectors toward remembered goal locations independent of the rat's movement or heading directions. Stronger goal modulation preceded correct navigational choices, establishing the relevance of theta sweeps for spatial planning. A hierarchical continuous attractor network with goal-oriented directional inputs reproduced these findings and made several nontrivial predictions, which we confirmed empirically. Sequential activity during immobility-related sharp-wave ripples was also goal directed and, therefore, more aligned with theta sweeps than with previously experienced trajectories. Our findings identify hippocampal theta sweeps as neural substrates for online goal-directed planning.
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Registered trials
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