Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Effects of Mind-Body-Movement Practices on Brain Function
Published on: January 26, 2024
The neural representation of absolute direction during mental navigation in conceptual spaces
Simone Viganò1, Valerio Rubino2, Marco Buiatti2
1CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy. simone.vigano@unitn.it.
Abstract:
When humans mentally "navigate" bidimensional uniform conceptual spaces, they recruit the same grid-like and distance codes typically evoked when exploring the physical environment. Here, using fMRI, we show evidence that conceptual navigation also elicits another kind of spatial code: that of absolute direction. This code is mostly localized in the medial parietal cortex, where its strength predicts participants' comparative semantic judgments. It may provide a complementary mechanism for conceptual navigation outside the hippocampal formation.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cartesian Vector Notation
Directional Terms
Two-Dimensional Force System
Direction of Acceleration Vectors
Vector Representation of Complex Numbers
Consider a function defined as the product of the complex factors in the numerator divided by the product of the complex factors in the...
Direction Cosines of a Vector

