Spatial mapping memory: methods used to determine the existence and type of cognitive maps in arboreal mammals

Spatial mapping shows that some African elephants use cognitive maps to navigate the core but not the periphery of their home ranges

Animal Cognition ◽

10.1007/s10071-019-01242-9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 251-263 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Andrea Presotto ◽

Richard Fayrer-Hosken ◽

Caitlin Curry ◽

Marguerite Madden

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Maps ◽

Spatial Mapping ◽

Home Ranges ◽

African Elephants ◽

The Core

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The role of the hippocampus in navigation is memory

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00005.2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 117 (4) ◽

pp. 1785-1796 ◽

Cited By ~ 90

Author(s):

Howard Eichenbaum

Keyword(s):

Neural Activity ◽

Spatial Navigation ◽

Cognitive Maps ◽

Spatial Mapping ◽

Relational Memory ◽

Hippocampal Function ◽

Knowledge Domains ◽

Considerable Research ◽

Hippocampal Networks

There is considerable research on the neurobiological mechanisms within the hippocampal system that support spatial navigation. In this article I review the literature on navigational strategies in humans and animals, observations on hippocampal function in navigation, and studies of hippocampal neural activity in animals and humans performing different navigational tasks and tests of memory. Whereas the hippocampus is essential to spatial navigation via a cognitive map, its role derives from the relational organization and flexibility of cognitive maps and not from a selective role in the spatial domain. Correspondingly, hippocampal networks map multiple navigational strategies, as well as other spatial and nonspatial memories and knowledge domains that share an emphasis on relational organization. These observations suggest that the hippocampal system is not dedicated to spatial cognition and navigation, but organizes experiences in memory, for which spatial mapping and navigation are both a metaphor for and a prominent application of relational memory organization.

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