Week 11 - Navigation research

Question 1

Define microscopic analysis.

Answer 1

How you keep track of your own location as you move:
small scale space
short time scale
perception

Question 2

What is macroscopic analysis?

Answer 2

How you remember where things are, and how you use that memory to guide navigation:
large scale space
long time scale
learning and memory

Question 3

What is the overarching area of the brain used in location tracking? Describe its subparts if you can remember.

Answer 3

Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL)
~ perirhinal cortex
~ entorhinal cortex
~ hippocampus
~ parahippocampal cortex

Question 4

What are place cells?

Answer 4

In the hippocampus. Fire when you are in specific locations within a given environment. When you visit specific region of your environment. Activates as you change location.

Question 5

What are grid cells?

Answer 5

In the entorhinal cortex. Fire when you occupy one of hexagonal grid points.
Collectively map navigation. Stores info about location, distance, direction.

Question 6

How do we track our location with our eyes closed and remember where a target is?

Answer 6

Our location tracking ability is quite good. Our physical movement in space is the most critical for spatial behaviour and awareness.

So is active controlled walking (vs passive). It enhances our spatial updating.

Question 7

What happened to epilepsy patients when they had their MTL removed?

Answer 7

They tended to walk too far compared to the control group. Their location tracking was damaged. Probably due to the cells damaged involved (e.g. space cells and grid cells).

Question 8

What are the two systems of large-scale navigation?

Answer 8

1. Place learning = identify object locations within larger environment. Declarative memory based. Quickly acquired.
2. Response learning = procedural memory based. Slow to learn. Does not require conscious awareness.