Navigation with a cognitive map

摘要

Navigation is a cognitive process that depends on more than a paper map; much like a modern GPS, it requires the ability to plan routes using the map. In this issue, Pfeiffer and Foster1 (page 74) show that sequences of activity in neurons called place cells, located in the hippocampus of the rat brain, transiently predict (plan) the journey that the animal is about to take. This report provides direct evidence for the future-focused navigational activity of place cells in a realistic two-dimensional environment.