Experimental Psychology Seminar - Roddy Grieves

Abstract: Accurate spatial navigation is crucial for finding food, shelter, mates, and safety. It is perhaps unsurprising then that many regions of the brain contain neurons specialised for mapping an animal's surroundings. In the laboratory we have learned a great deal about how these neurons represent flat, simple environments, but the real world is rarely flat or simple. This deficit in our knowledge means that we know comparatively little about how the brain maps real-world environments that humans and animals navigate daily.

How do these neurons deal with the ambiguity of repetitive environments, like the endless corridors and offices humans often navigate? Do they map the vertical dimension, such as when an animal forages for food in a bush or tree? How do these neurons deal with the complexities and paradoxes that arise when navigating across curved surfaces, such as hills and ridges? 

Here I will present my research on spatial neurons in the rodent brain, such as grid, place and head direction cells. I will argue that the brain solves many of these problems using surprisingly similar mechanisms and that environment geometry consistently plays a central role. However, I will also argue that while geometry is often defined in the laboratory as walls and boundaries, in the real-world it is likely associated more generally with terrain shape.

Zoom Link: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/99517801607?pwd=bJnwlhGo9QwjQfqpYH2PHhY7jXh6ma.1
Meeting ID: 995 1780 1607
Passcode: 884637