Category: Neural Basis of Navigation

How can navigation in cluttered environments be supported by utilizing a combination of grid cell-driven vector navigation, place cell-driven topological navigation, and border cell-driven local obstacle avoidance?

Edvardsen, V, Bicanski, A, Burgess, N. Navigating with grid and place cells in cluttered environments. Hippocampus. 2020; 30: 220– 232. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.23147

Abstract
“Hippocampal formation contains several classes of neurons thought to be involved in navigational processes, in particular place …

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How do multiple head direction cells work in different brain regions?

Robert GK Munn, Lisa M Giocomo. Multiple head direction signals within entorhinal cortex: origin and function. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. Volume 64, 2020, Pages 32-40.

Highlights

Directional signals in mammals arise from vestibular inputs and ascend to cortex

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How to unlock the secrets of three-dimensional navigation in the brains of bats?

Ziying Fu, Jia Tang, Qicai Chen. Neuroscientists are questing to unlock the secrets of three-dimensional navigation in the brains of bats. In Journal of Chinese Science Bulletin, Dec 13, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1360/TB-2019-0404.

Abstract
Unlocking the secrets of spatial orientation

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How do desert ants perform path integration in a three-dimensional world?

Ronacher, B. Path integration in a three-dimensional world: the case of desert ants. J Comp Physiol A (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-020-01401-1

Abstract
Desert ants use path integration to return from foraging excursions on a shortcut way to their nests. …

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How does the brain encode head motion?

Jean Laurens, Dora E. Angelaki. Simple spike dynamics of Purkinje cells in the macaque vestibulo-cerebellum during passive whole-body self-motion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 2020, 201915873; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1915873117

Significance
This study characterizes the response dynamics

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How spatial information is dynamically reactivated in sub-regions of the human MTL and how this reactivation guides recall of episodic information

Nora A. Herweg, Ashwini D. Sharan, Michael R. Sperling, Armin Brandt, Andreas Schulze-Bonhage and Michael J. Kahana. Reactivated spatial context guides episodic recall. Journal of Neuroscience 23 January 2020, 1640-19; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1640-19.2019

Abstract
“The medial temporal lobe (MTL) is …

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How does the brain’s compass system work in insects and mammals?

Hulse, Brad K., and Vivek Jayaraman. “Mechanisms Underlying the Neural Computation of Head Direction.” Annual Review of Neuroscience 43 (2019).

Abstract

Many animals use an internal sense of direction to guide their movements through the world. …

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