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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
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Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain
Published on: October 13, 2023
The cortical scene processing network emerges in infancy, prior to independent navigation experience
Frederik S Kamps1, Emily M Chen2,3, Haoyu Du2,4
1Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.
Summary
The infant brain develops scene selectivity before independent navigation. Early visual cortex responses to scenes emerge with passive exposure, not requiring active movement.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Visual perception
Background:
- Adults possess specialized cortical regions for processing visual scenes, crucial for navigation.
- The developmental timeline and contributing factors for scene-selective cortex development remain unclear.
- Hypotheses suggest development relies on passive visual statistics or active navigation experience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the emergence of scene-selective cortical responses in early infancy.
- To determine if scene selectivity development depends on passive visual exposure or active navigation.
Main Methods:
- Ecological momentary assessment quantified infant ego-motion and navigation in early life.
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measured neural responses in infants (2-9 months) viewing scenes, faces, objects, and scrambled stimuli.
- Analysis compared responses in scene-selective regions to control conditions and low-level visual features.
Main Results:
- Infants experienced extensive passive ego-motion (340 hours by 5 months).
- Cortical regions showed significantly stronger responses to scenes compared to control stimuli.
- Scene-selective responses were distinct from face/object regions, not fully explained by low-level features, and present even without locomotor experience.
Conclusions:
- The fundamental neural signature of scene selectivity develops in infancy.
- Emergence of scene selectivity precedes independent navigation and active experience.
- Passive visual exposure to scene statistics is sufficient for the initial development of scene-selective cortical processing.
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