Fig. 2: Identification of object exploration-dependent place cells (oePCs).

a A sample classical (cPC) with mouse trajectory and deconvolved spike activity (red). Middle panels show binned activity in exploration (top, red) and nonexploration (bottom, blue) bouts. The right panel shows the observed difference in mean spike rates between exploration (Expl.) and nonexploration (Nonexpl.) bouts and shuffled data using bootstrap methods. b, c Same as in a but for sample oePCs in the square-shaped (n = 75 cells in 9 mice) and circular-shaped maze (n = 32 cells in 6 mice). d Lap-average activity of cPCs in exploration and non-exploration laps across all mice, sorted by place field centers. Neuronal activity was normalized to the maximum activity of each neuron and sorted according to angular position. The right panel shows difference between the activity map in exploration and non-exploration laps. e Same as in d but for oePCs. Arrowheads indicate bins closest to the objects. f Left, difference in spatial information between exploration (red) and non-exploration laps (white) in 107 oePCs (P = 2.41 × 10⁻⁹; two-sided paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Middle distribution of center of mass (COM) in the square (top) and circular maze (bottom). Right, Difference Index (DI) in cPCs (blue, n = 859) and oePCs (red, n = 107), respectively (P = 1.29 × 10⁻⁵⁹; Two-sided Mann-Whitney U test). Box plots show the median (horizontal line), 25–75% range (box) and outliers (whiskers). Data and statistical analyses are reported in the Source Data file.