biostudies-literatureSeeber MU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)W. M. Keck FoundationW. M. Keck Foundation (W.M. Keck Foundation)NINDS NIH HHSMcKnight Foundation781-793https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12018265biostudies-literatureUnknown9(4)The ability to form episodic memories and later imagine them is integral to the human experience, influencing our recollection of the past and envisioning of the future. While rodent studies suggest the medial temporal lobe, especially the hippocampus, is involved in these functions, its role in human imagination remains uncertain. In human participants, imaginations can be explicitly instructed and reported. Here we investigate hippocampal theta oscillations during real-world and imagined navigation using motion capture and intracranial electroencephalographic recordings from individuals with chronically implanted medial temporal lobe electrodes. Our results revealed intermittent theta dynamics, particularly within the hippocampus, encoding spatial information and partitioning navigationaNature human behaviourHuman neural dynamics of real-world and imagined navigation.PMC12018265U01 NS117838Technological Innovations Award in NeuroscienceK99 NS126715K99NS126715U01NS117838R00 NS126715Junior Faculty AwardHalpern CHSuthana NTopalovic UFried ILangevin JPStangl MRao VRSeeber MHiller SVallejo Martelo MEliashiv DfalseHuman neural dynamics of real-world and imagined navigation.The ability to form episodic memories and later imagine them is integral to the human experience, influencing our recollection of the past and envisioning of the future. While rodent studies suggest the medial temporal lobe, especially the hippocampus, is involved in these functions, its role in human imagination remains uncertain. In human participants, imaginations can be explicitly instructed and reported. Here we investigate hippocampal theta oscillations during real-world and imagined navigation using motion capture and intracranial electroencephalographic recordings from individuals with chronically implanted medial temporal lobe electrodes. Our results revealed intermittent theta dynamics, particularly within the hippocampus, encoding spatial information and partitioning navigationa2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Apr2025-06-26T03:05:40.465Z2025-06-26T03:05:40.465ZS-EPMC120182654006513710.1038/s41562-025-02119-3