spatial navigation
Neurophilosophy
Tag archives for spatial navigation
Neural basis of spatial navigation in the congenitally blind
Posted by Mo on June 30, 2010 FOR most of us, the ability to navigate our environment is largely dependent on the sense of vision. We use visual information to note the location of landmarks, and to identify and negotiate obstacles. These visual cues also enable us to keep track of our movements, by monitoring how our position changes relative to landmarks…
Human grid cells tile the environment
Posted by Mo on January 27, 2010 HOW does the brain encode the spatial representations which enable us to successfully navigate our environment? Four decades of research has identified four cell types in the brains of mice and rats which are known to be involved in these processes: place cells, grid cells, head direction cells and, most recently, border cells. Although the…
Mice navigate a virtual reality environment
Posted by Mo on October 18, 2009 USING an inventive new method in which mice run through a virtual reality environment based on the video game Quake, researchers from Princeton University have made the first direct measurements of the cellular activity associated with spatial navigation. The method will allow for investigations of the neural circuitry underlying navigation, and should lead to a…