Navigation articles from across Nature Portfolio

The hippocampus maps space, but its role in encoding investigatory intentions is unclear. Here the authors show that certain CA1 neurons encode both spatial information and animals’ intention to explore, depending on input from lateral entorhinal cortex.

Excitatory pyramidal neurons preferentially target inhibitory interneurons with the same selectivity and, in turn, inhibitory interneurons preferentially target pyramidal neurons with opposite selectivity, forming an opponent inhibition motif that supports decision-making.

In Drosophila, FC2 neurons signal a navigational goal, which is compared with the fly’s heading by PFL3 neurons to guide moment-to-moment steering.

Here we show how PFL2 and PFL3 neurons in the Drosophila brain compare a representation of direction with internal spatial goals, both anchored in world-centric coordinates, and produce body-centric steering commands that act to correct deviations from the goal direction. 

How neural responses to boundaries develop in the subiculum remains unknown. Here authors show that the receptive fields of Boundary Vector Cells (neurons signalling vector displacement to boundaries) are altered by environment geometry, with directional tunings aligning with square arena walls, including during development.

Inspired by insects in nature, the authors develop a neuromorphic robotic system with obstacle avoidance, tunnel centering and gap crossing capabilities. Their robotic system accomplishes these multiple capabilities by steering towards regions of low apparent motion.

Neurons in the mouse subiculum encode concave and convex geometrical environmental features.

An article in Science Robotics reports the role of mechanical intelligence in terrestrial limbless locomotion.

Grid cells develop in rats soon after they leave the nest. Here, Ulsaker-Janke et al. show that preventing exposure to straight boundaries from birth delays, but does not prevent, grid cell maturation in adult rats.