Category: Neural Basis of Navigation

How does the mammalian brain represent goal locations?

Nils Nyberg, Éléonore Duvelle, Caswell Barry, Hugo J. Spiers. Spatial goal coding in the hippocampal formation. Neuron, January 14, 2022. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.12.012

Summary
“The mammalian hippocampal formation contains several distinct populations of neurons involved in representing self-position and orientation. These …

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How the brain uses diverse sensory information to generate a stable directional representation of space?

Kadjita Asumbisa, Adrien Peyrache, Stuart Trenholm. Flexible cue anchoring strategies enable stable head direction coding in both sighted and blind animalsdoi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.12.476111

Abstract
Vision plays a crucial role in instructing the brain’s spatial navigation systems

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How velocity cues with time-varying reliabilities are integrated into an evolving position estimate over prolonged time periods, and how the brain builds internal models inferring when cues ought to be integrated versus segregated?

Jean-Paul Noel and Dora E. Angelaki. Cognitive, Systems, and Computational Neurosciences of the Self in Motion. Annual Review of Psychology. Vol. 73:103-129 (Volume publication date January 2022).  https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-021021-103038

Abstract
Navigating by path integration requires continuously estimating one’s self-motion.

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Whether grid cell networks show continuous attractor dynamics, and how they interface with inputs from the environment?

Richard J. Gardner, Erik Hermansen, Marius Pachitariu, Yoram Burak, Nils A. Baas, Benjamin A. Dunn, May-Britt Moser & Edvard I. Moser. Toroidal topology of population activity in grid cells. Nature (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04268-7

Abstract
“The medial entorhinal cortex is part …

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How are neural representations of space used in the service of both real-world navigation and internal mnemonic processes?

Wenbo Tang and Shantanu P. JadhavMultiple-Timescale Representations of Space: Linking Memory to Navigation. Annual Review of Neuroscience. Vol. 45:- (Volume publication date July 2022). Review in Advance first posted online on December 22, 2021. (Changes may still …

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Why are our conceptions of space and time intertwined with memory in the hippocampal formation?

Lynn Nadel. The hippocampal formation and action at a distance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2021, 118 (51) e2119670118; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2119670118

 

“Why is it that the same neural system is so intimately involved in aspects …

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How is the sense of space properly updated when travelling and heading angles differ?

Cheng Lyu, L. F. Abbott & Gaby Maimon. Building an allocentric travelling direction signal via vector computationNature (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04067-0

Abstract
“Many behavioural tasks require the manipulation of mathematical vectors, but, outside of computational models1,2,3,4,5,6,7, it is not known

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How does the brain create spatial maps in piriform cortex during olfactory navigation?

Cindy Poo, Gautam Agarwal, Niccolò Bonacchi & Zachary F. Mainen. Spatial maps in piriform cortex during olfactory navigationNature (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04242-3

Abstract
Odours are a fundamental part of the sensory environment used by animals to guide behaviours such

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How does the brain map vestibular and visual contributions to angular head velocity tuning in the cortex?

Eivind Hennestad, Aree Witoelar, Anna R. Chambers, Koen Vervaeke. Mapping vestibular and visual contributions to angular head velocity tuning in the cortex. Cell Reports, Volume 37, Issue 12, 2021, 110134.

Summary
Neurons that signal the angular velocity of

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How does the monarch butterfly modulate heading representation?

M. Jerome Beetz, Christian Kraus, Myriam Franzke, Eric J. Warrant, Christine Merlin, Basil el Jundi. Flight-induced compass representation in the monarch butterfly heading network. Current Biology, 2021,  Published:November 24, 2021 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.009

Summary
“For navigation, animals use a robust internal …

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How do cognitive maps support hierarchical planning at multiple scales for large-scale navigation?

Iva K. Brunec and Ida Momennejad. Predictive Representations in Hippocampal and Prefrontal Hierarchies. Journal of Neuroscience 19 November 2021, JN-RM-1327-21; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1327-21.2021

Abstract
“As we navigate the world, we use learned representations of relational structures to explore and to …

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How does the brain encode the angular head velocity with multisensory integration?

Sepiedeh Keshavarzi, Edward F. Bracey, Richard A. Faville, Dario Campagner, Adam L. Tyson, Stephen C. Lenzi, Tiago Branco, Troy W. Margrie. Multisensory coding of angular head velocity in the retrosplenial cortex. Neuron, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.031.

Summary
To successfully navigate

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How does the brain map future navigational goals?

Raunak Basu, Robert Gebauer, Tim Herfurth, Simon Kolb, Zahra Golipour, Tatjana Tchumatchenko & Hiroshi T. Ito. The orbitofrontal cortex maps future navigational goals. Nature (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04042-9

Abstract
Accurate navigation to a desired goal requires consecutive estimates of spatial

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How does the hippocampus of flying owls encode 3D space?

Arpit Agarwal, Ayelet Sarel, Dori Derdikman, Nachum Ulanovsky, Yoram Gutfreund. Spatial coding in the hippocampus of flying owls. bioRxiv 2021.10.24.465553; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.24.465553

Abstract
“The elucidation of spatial coding in the hippocampus requires exploring diverse animal species. While robust place-cells …

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How the macaque hippocampal formation represents 3D space?

Mao, Dun, Eric Avila, Baptiste Caziot, Jean Laurens, J. David Dickman, and Dora E. Angelaki. “Spatial modulation of hippocampal activity in freely moving macaques.” Neuron (2021) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.032 

Summary
The hippocampal formation is linked to spatial navigation, but

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