The hippocampus and entorhinal cortex encode the path and Euclidean distances to goals during navigation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite decades of research on spatial memory, we know surprisingly little about how the brain guides navigation to goals. While some models argue that vectors are represented for navigational guidance, other models postulate that the future path is computed. Although the hippocampal formation has been implicated in processing spatial goal information, it remains unclear whether this region processes path- or vector-related information.

Results

We report neuroimaging data collected from subjects navigating London's Soho district; these data reveal that both the path distance and the Euclidean distance to the goal are encoded by the medial temporal lobe during navigation. While activity in the posterior hippocampus was sensitive to the distance along the path, acti

SUBMITTER: Howard LR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4062938 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature