Spatial Navigation

Question 1

Who invented the Morris Water Maze and when?

Answer 1

Richard Morris invented the Morris Water Maze in 1981.

Question 2

What is the purpose of the Morris Water Maze?

Answer 2

It is one of the most commonly used tasks to study spatial learning and memory.

Question 3

Describe the design of the Morris Water Maze.

Answer 3

It is a large circular pool with a diameter of 2 meters.

Question 4

What is a key feature of the Morris Water Maze?

Answer 4

It contains a submerged platform that is not visible from the surface of the water.

Question 5

How does the Morris Water Maze assess an individual’s abilities?

Answer 5

It evaluates the ability to learn the location of the hidden platform, relying on spatial cues from the environment.

Question 6

What are the four strategies animals use to find the submerged platform in the Morris Water Maze?

Answer 6

1. Random Navigation
2. Taxon Navigation
3. Praxis Navigation
4. Locale Navigation

Question 7

What is Random Navigation?

Answer 7

When an animal lacks information about the platform’s location, it searches for it randomly.

Question 8

Define Taxon Navigation.

Answer 8

The animal uses visible cues or other sensory inputs to navigate directly towards the platform.

Question 9

What is Praxis Navigation?

Answer 9

The animal follows a consistent motor program or routine.

Question 10

Describe Locale Navigation.

Answer 10

The animal learns the platform’s location relative to a constellation of cues, developing a cognitive map of the environment.

Question 11

What is a Cognitive Map?

Answer 11

A mental representation of spatial relationships in the environment.

Question 12

What are the two types of reference used in Locale Navigation?

Answer 12

Egocentric Reference: Navigation based on the animal’s position relative to the cues and platform.
Allocentric Reference: Navigation based on the spatial relationships among cues and the platform itself.

Question 13

What is the memory load associated with Locale Navigation?

Answer 13

It places a heavy demand on memory, as the animal must recall the locations of the cues and platform in relation to itself and each other.

Question 14

Where is the hippocampus located?

Answer 14

The hippocampus is a structure in the medial temporal lobe, surrounded by cortical areas.

Question 15

What is the origin of the name “hippocampus”?

Answer 15

The term “hippocampus” is derived from its resemblance to a sea horse.

Question 16

What is the primary function of the hippocampus?

Answer 16

It is involved in spatial navigation, learning, and memory.

Question 17

What evidence supports the role of the hippocampus in navigation?

Answer 17

Lesion Studies: Damage to the hippocampus disrupts spatial learning, indicating its critical role in navigation and memory formation.

Human Studies: Research on taxi drivers shows activation of the hippocampus when recalling routes.

Question 18

What did Maguire’s study (2000) reveal about taxi drivers and the hippocampus?

Answer 18

The study found that the hippocampus is activated when taxi drivers recall routes around London, with greater time spent as a taxi driver correlating with increased activation of the anterior hippocampus.

Question 19

What are the four essential components for effective navigation?

Answer 19

Current Location: Awareness of present position in space.

Goal Location: Remembering the destination or goal location.

Direction: Understanding the appropriate direction to reach the goal.

Distance: Estimating the distance to the destination for planning and assessing progress.

Question 20

What are place cells and who discovered them?

Answer 20

Place cells are neurons in the hippocampus that represent specific locations. They were discovered by O’Keefe and Dostrovsky in 1971.

Question 21

How did O’Keefe and Dostrovsky study place cells?

Answer 21

They implanted electrodes in the CA1 area of the hippocampus of freely-moving rats exploring an arena, finding a correlation between neuron firing and the rat’s position.

Question 22

What does O’Keefe (1979) say about place cells?

Answer 22

He describes place cells as cells that “construct the notion of a place in an environment by connecting together several multisensory inputs.”

Question 23

What are the properties of place cells?

Answer 23

Stability: Show good stability over time.

Memory Component: Continue to fire in the dark or when external cues are removed.

Landmark Dependence: Adjust their firing when distal landmarks move.

Location Specificity: Different cells become active in different locations.

Question 24

What are head-direction cells?

Answer 24

Head-direction cells are neurons in the postsubiculum area of the hippocampal formation that fire depending on the direction of the rat’s head.

Question 25

What happens when there are lesions in the postsubiculum?

Answer 25

Lesions impair spatial navigation and head-direction cells continue to fire in the dark, indicating their role in navigation.

Question 26

How do head-direction cells respond to changes in distal cues?

Answer 26

Rotation of distal cues leads to a corresponding rotation in the directional firing of head-direction cells.

Question 27

What are grid cells?

Answer 27

Grid cells are recently discovered neurons that may encode the distance traveled. Further discussion on grid cells will occur in the next year’s lectures.