How the Brain's Navigation System Shapes Our Visual Experience. Issue 9 (September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nau, Matthias; Julian, Joshua B.; Doeller, Christian F.
• Is Part Of: Trends in cognitive sciences. Volume 22:Issue 9(2018)
• Page Start: 810
• Page End: 825
• Publication Date: 2018-09
• Subjects: hippocampus -- place cells -- grid cells -- visual constancy -- reference frame -- memory; Cognitive science -- Periodicals; Cognitive neuroscience -- Periodicals; 153.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.06.008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1364-6613

Abstract

Abstract : We explore the environment not only by navigating, but also by viewing our surroundings with our eyes. Here we review growing evidence that the mammalian hippocampal formation, extensively studied in the context of navigation and memory, mediates a representation of visual space that is stably anchored to the external world. This visual representation puts the hippocampal formation in a central position to guide viewing behavior and to modulate visual processing beyond the medial temporal lobe (MTL). We suggest that vision and navigation share several key computational challenges that are solved by overlapping and potentially common neural systems, making vision an optimal domain to explore whether and how the MTL supports cognitive operations beyond navigation. Highlights: The hippocampal formation (HF) has traditionally been studied in the context of navigation and memory. Recent electrophysiological and neuroimaging research demonstrates that similar HF mechanisms supporting navigation also mediate a world-centered representation of visual space (i.e., where a viewer is looking) during purely visual exploration. Visual information is transformed from eye- to world-centered coordinates using similar computations as those that support reference frame transformations during navigation. HF visuospatial representations may feedback to visual brain regions to guide viewing behavior and to stabilize perception during self-motion. Vision offers a powerful domain in which to examine the role of the HF in cognition beyond navigation and memory.