Parasubiculum

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve it to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details. (June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In the rodent, the parasubiculum is a retrohippocampal isocortical structure, and a major component of the subicular complex. It receives numerous subcortical and cortical inputs, and sends major projections to the superficial layers of the entorhinal cortex (Amaral & Witter, 1995).

The parasubicular area is a transitional zone between the presubiculum and the entorhinal area in the mouse (Paxinos-2001), the rat (Swanson, 1998) and the primate (Zilles, 1990). Defined on the basis of cytoarchitecture, it is more similar to the presubiculum than to the entorhinal area (Zilles, 1990), however electrophysiological evidence suggests a similarity with the entorhinal cortex (Funahashi and Stewart, 1997; Glasgow & Chapman, 2007). To be specific, cells in this area are modulated by local theta rhythm, and display theta-frequency membrane potential oscillations (Glasgow & Chapman, 2007; Taube, 1995). Furthermore, cells in the parasubiculum, and neighboring presubiculum, fire in relation to the animal's location in space, suggesting properties similar to place cells. It is postulated that this area may play an integral role in spatial navigation and the integration of head-directional information (Chrobak & Buzsáki, 1994; Taube, 1995).