A neural code for egocentric spatial maps in the human medial temporal lobe.

ABSTRACT: Spatial navigation and memory rely on neural systems that encode places, distances, and directions in relation to the external world or relative to the navigating organism. Place, grid, and head-direction cells form key units of world-referenced, allocentric cognitive maps, but the neural basis of self-centered, egocentric representations remains poorly understood. Here, we used human single-neuron recordings during virtual spatial navigation tasks to identify neurons providing a neural code for egocentric spatial maps in the human brain. Consistent with previous observations in rodents, these neurons represented egocentric bearings toward reference points positioned throughout the environment. Egocentric bearing cells were abundant in the parahippocampal cortex and supported vectorial rep

SUBMITTER: Kunz L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8518022 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature