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The retrosplenial complex as an integration zone between self- and map-based components of spatial navigation and
Agustina Fragueiro1, Annalisa Tosoni1, Federica Santacroce1
1Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università G. d'Annunzio di Chieti-Pescara, Italy; Istituto di Tecnologie Avanzate Biomediche, Università G. d'Annunzio di Chieti-Pescara, Italy.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|November 11, 2025
Summary
Spatial navigation and declarative memory share brain regions, especially the retrosplenial complex, crucial for transforming reference frames. This suggests a common neural network supports both mental and physical space navigation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Spatial navigation and declarative memory traditionally studied separately.
- Emerging theories propose shared neural mechanisms and evolutionary continuity.
- Link hypothesized through transformations between egocentric and allocentric reference frames.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively compare fMRI studies on spatial navigation and declarative memory.
- To assess neural substrate convergence between these domains.
- To identify common brain regions involved in reference frame transformations.
Main Methods:
- Meta-analysis using Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE).
- Compared fMRI data from spatial navigation (egocentric/allocentric) and declarative memory (episodic/semantic) studies.
- Assessed convergence of activation likelihood across domains.
Main Results:
- Extensive overlap found, particularly in the retrosplenial complex (posterior cingulate cortex/retrosplenial cortex).
- Retrosplenial complex consistently activated across all four conditions, indicating a key role in reference frame integration.
- Episodic memory overlapped with egocentric navigation in OPA, AG, PPA; with allocentric navigation in PPA, hippocampus.
- Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) identified as a domain-general hub for memory and allocentric navigation.
Conclusions:
- Findings support a shared large-scale network involving medial temporal, parietal, and cingulo-retrosplenial regions.
- Retrosplenial complex is crucial for converting egocentric and allocentric information across domains.
- Future research should explore generalization of transformations and network roles (Default Mode, Salience).
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