(a,b) Two PRH cells showing left–right selectivity in firing rate (colour-coded; different units than Fig. 1). (c,d) NRD in PRH as a function of linearized maze position. Colour code below (d) corresponds to maze positions in c. Only units (N=349) with a discrimination score >0.5 were included in this graph. The mean NRD is plotted on top of the colour-coded survey (baseline: dashed line; significance with respect to baseline: horizontal line). Vertical coloured lines correspond to the spatial decision point (cyan), PNR (blue), reward site (purple) and return to middle (pink; see also c). (e,f) The NRD (d) can be decomposed into sustained PRH firing increments in the preferred arm (Pref) (e), and prolonged decrements in the non-preferred (NonPref) arm (f). NR is normalized firing rate. Mean NR is plotted on top of the colour-coded surveys. (g–i) Same for hippocampal CA1 neurons (N=373), showing transient peak responses in one arm, as expected for place fields. For data on sensory neocortex, see Supplementary Fig. 4. The mean NRD in g shows spatially extended enhancement due to the fact that CA1 cells with place fields in the preferred arm contribute punctate responses, which add up in the mean NRD. No such enhancement is seen in the CA1 non-preferred arm plot (i) because, by definition, this arm is devoid of strong place fields. (j) Three examples of PRH (top, black) and hippocampal (bottom, green) neurons contrasting sustained versus transient NRDs as a function of linearized maze position. (k) Frequency histogram of the consistency of left–right discriminatory firing across spatial bins for PRH (black) and CA1 (green). High consistency indicates that the firing-rate differences between the preferred and non-preferred sides are uniformly maintained across the spatial bins of the arms. The consistency of PRH was higher than the consistency of CA1 (Mann–Whitney U-test, Z=17.76, P=0). (l) Left–right firing-rate differences were correlated between locomotion in forward and opposite heading directions. Pearson’s correlation coefficient r=0.62 (P=1.56 × 10⁻³⁸).