Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise
Published on: January 26, 2024
Neural representations in human spatial memory
1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Dept of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK. n.burgess@ucl.ac.uk
Abstract:
Ekstrom et al. report the responses of single neurons recorded from the brains of human subjects performing a spatial navigation task in virtual reality. They found cells encoding the subject's current location, view and destination. These data, and related findings in animals, directly reveal some of the representations underlying spatial cognition. They highlight the potential for cognitive psychology and systems neuroscience to combine to provide a neuronal-level understanding of human behaviour.
Related Concept Videos
Role of Hippocampus in Memory
Storage
Somatosensation
Neural Circuits
Neuronal pools are collections of nerve cells with similar functions and interact through chemical and electrical signals. These pools include both interneurons (the central neural circuit nodes that...
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex
