Zaneta Navratilova

Research Interests

Zaneta’s current research interests focus on the neural networks (hippocampal and entorhinal) related to spatial navigation. She worked on creating a computational model that might explain how the neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex keep track of where an animal has moved in an environment. These neurons have specific timing properties (theta phase precession), which allow them to spike at precise times relative to each other, in order to encode, in a short period of time, information about a path through the environment, in addition to the single current location of the animal. Our model was able to explain a possible way in which this precise timing of the neurons can be generated with the known biological properties of the neurons.

She has also conducted electrophysiological studies of hippocampal neurons, in order to study how the information from the medial entorhinal cortex is interpreted and modified in the hippocampus. We have recently observed that the first time a rat runs a specified route, hippocampal pyramidal neurons show highly similar spiking activity, regardless of the direction in which the path is traversed. As the rat follows the same path repeatedly, however, the neurons change their firing rates in each direction, eventually showing activity that is quite different in each direction. We believe that this change is due mostly to the changes in firing rates of the neurons, and not due to changes in the locations in which the neurons fire, suggesting that the neurons still hold some information about the global location of the animal, in addition to now encoding information about the direction in which it is traveling the path and the landmarks visible in that direction.

Background

Zaneta received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in May 2006, with majors in molecular and cellular biology, and in psychology. As an undergraduate student, she worked in the laboratories of Dr. Mani Ramaswami, studying genes related to long-term memory, and Dr. Carol Barnes, studying the changes that occur in the hippocampus during aging. She started working on her PhD at the University of Arizona in Dr. Bruce McNaughton’s laboratory in July 2006. As a rotation project during the first year of her graduate studies, she studied the postnatal development of hippocampus-related neural networks with in situ hybridization of immediate early genes in rat pup brains. Her second rotation project was in the laboratory of Dr. Jean-Marc Fellous, where she learned about biophysical modeling of cortical neurons connected in small networks. She came to the CCBN in August 2009 to continue her PhD work in Dr. McNaughton’s laboratory.

Publications

  1. Navratilova Z, Hoang LT, Schwindel CD, Tatsuno M and McNaughton BL (2012). Experience-dependent firing rate remapping generates directional selectivity in hippocampal place cells. Front. Neural Circuits 6:6. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2012.00006
  2. Navratilova Z, Giocomo LM, Fellous JM, Hasselmo ME, McNaughton BL. (2011). Phase precession and variable spatial scaling in a periodic attractor map model of medial entorhinal grid cells with realistic after-spike dynamics. Hippocampus. 2011 Apr 11. doi: 10.1002/hipo.20939.
  3. Fellous, J.-M., Sejnowski, T.J., Navratilova, Z. (2009). Intrinsic and network contributions to reverberatory activity: Reactive clamp and modeling studies. In Dynamic-Clamp, Destexhe, A., and Bal, T. (eds.), pp. 237-259. Springer Series in Computational Neuroscience 1.
  4. Burke, S.N., Maurer, A.P., Zhiyoung, Y., Navratilova, Z., and Barnes, C.A. (2008). Gluatmate receptor-mediated restoration of experience-dependent place field expansion plasticity in aged rats. Behavioral Neuroscience 2008, 122:535-548.
  5. Navratilova, Z. and Fellous, J.-M. (2008). A Biophysical model of cortical up and down states: excitatory-inhibitory balance and H-current. In Dynamic Brain, M. Marinaro, S. Scarpetta and Y. Yamaguchi (Eds), LNCS5286, pp61-66, Springer.
  6. Etter, P., Narayanan, R., Navratilova, Z., Patel, C., Bohmann, D., Jasper, H., Ramaswami, M. (2005). Synaptic and genomic responses to JNK and AP-1 signaling in Drosophila neurons. BMC Neuroscience 2005, 6:39.

Poster presentations

  1. Navratilova, Z., Hoang, L.T., Valdes, J. L., Tatsuno, M., McNaughton, B.L. (2010). CA1 place cells show a gradual firing rate remapping in opposite running directions with repeated traversals of a track, leading to increased directional asymmetry of place fields. Program No. 204.24.2010 Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. San Diego, CA: Society for Neuroscience. Online.
  2. Navratilova, Z., Fellous, J.-M., McNaughton, B.L. (2008). Intrinsic current based phase precession in a toroidal attractor model of path integration in medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) grid cells: effects of speed input and intrinsic current time constant. Program No. 391.11.2008 Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience, Online.
  3. Navratilova, Z., Fellous, J.-M., McNaughton, B.L. (2008). Intrinsic current generated, omnidirectional phase precession and grid field scaling in toroidal attractor model of medial entorhinal path integration. BMC Neuroscience, 9 (Suppl 1):P21 (11 July 2008). Poster presented at CNS 2008, Portland, OR, USA.
  4. Navratilova, Z., and Fellous, J.-M. (2007) A biophysical model of cortical up and down states: Excitatory and inhibitory balance and H-current. Poster presented at Caianiello International School on Neural Nets, Erice, Sicily - Italy. December, 2007.
  5. Navratilova, Z., and Fellous, J.-M. (2007) A biophysical model of cortical up and down states: Excitatory and inhibitory balance and H-current. Program No. 790.4.2007 Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. San Diego, CA: Society for Neuroscience, Online.
  6. McNaughton, B.L., Navratilova, Z., Burke, S.N., and Barnes, C.A. (2007) Delayed Onset of Post-Natal Expression of Plasticity Related Immediate Early Gene Arc in Medial Entorhinal Cortex Grid Cell Network. Program No. 744.2.2007 Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. San Diego, CA: Society for Neuroscience, Online.
  7. Navratilova, Z., Burke, S.N., Maurer, A.P., McNaughton, B.L., and Barnes C.A. (2006) Effects of memantine on the behavior of aged rats in the Morris water maze. Program No. 371.10.2006 Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. Atlanta, GA: Society for Neuroscience, Online.

Degrees

  • BSc. Molecular and cellular biology, University of Arizona, May 2006.
  • BSc. Psychology, University of Arizona, May 2006.