Coding of social odors in the hippocampal CA2 region as a substrate for social memory

Abstract

The ability to encode and update information about individuals is critical for lasting social relationships. Although the hippocampus is important for social recognition memory, its underlying neural representations remain elusive. Here we investigate the neural codes mediating social recognition and learning by examining social odor recognition and associative odor-reward learning in mice. We performed high-resolution calcium imaging from the hippocampal CA2 region of awake head-fixed mice, as CA2 is necessary for social recognition memory. We find that CA2 encodes specific neural representations of novel social odors that are further refined during associative odor-reward learning. Optogenetic silencing of CA2 impairs the formation of reward associations. Furthermore, CA2 population activity represents odors in a geometry that enables abstract representations of social versus non-social odors. Thus, CA2 distinguishes multiple forms of olfactory stimuli to enhance the learning of social odors and associations, which are poised to serve as substrates of social memory.