Brain-inspired navigation based on the entorhinal cortex- hippocampal neural circuit: Bridging spatial cognitive...

The spatial cognitive neural circuit comprising the mammalian hippocampal (HPC) and entorhinal cortex (EC) constitutes the neurobiological foundation that enables organisms to achieve autonomous navigation in complex environments. Brain-inspired navigation technology, as an innovative paradigm for addressing the challenge of autonomous robot localization in complex environments, substantially improves the adaptability of navigation systems in unstructured and dynamic environments through the emulation of mammalian spatial cognitive neural mechanisms. To address the limitations in adaptability and energy consumption faced by current robot navigation systems in unstructured environments, brain-inspired navigation technology provides an innovative solution for the development of autonomous intelligent systems through the emulation of mammalian spatial cognitive mechanisms. Therefore, this review provides a systematic examination and analysis of the neural dynamic properties and information encoding mechanisms of spatial representation units, such as grid cells and place cells, within the EC-HPC neural circuit. Second, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the spatial cognitive computing model inspired by the EC-HPC circuit and reviewed its application progress in robot navigation systems. Finally, the current problems and challenges confronting brain-inspired navigation technology are analyzed, and potential future research directions related to the cross-disciplinary integration of neuroscience and artificial intelligence are discussed.