The cognitive map as a hippocampus

The dorsolateral telencephalon of teleost fish is a critical brain center for allocentric navigation based on map-like spatial memory.

“These results closely resemble those obtained after hippocampus lesions in mammals, birds, and reptiles [39,57,72,97,98,112,152,157] and demonstrated that the dorsolateral telencephalon of teleost fish is a critical brain center for allocentric navigation based in map-like spatial memory.”

Such hypothetical memory representations presumably encode the spatial relationships between all known places and landmarks in a common allocentric reference frame or unitary global map, accessible as a whole, and can operate to infer spatial relationships between any represented elements.

“Such hypothetical memory representations presumably encode the spatial relationships between all the known places and landmarks in a common allocentric reference frame or unitary global map, accessible as a whole, and that can operate to infer the spatial relationships between any of the represented elements.”

Some teleost spatial strategies necessarily involve complex learning and memory capabilities and require flexible representational mechanisms, the most remarkable of which is allocentric navigation based on map-like spatial memory.

“Some of these spatial strategies necessarily involve complex learning and memory capabilities and require the concurrence of flexible representational mechanisms, the most remarkable of which probably is allocentric navigation based on map-like spatial memory”

As a whole, these results indicate that teleost fish, like mammals, birds, and reptilians, can use allocentric strategies to solve spatial tasks.

“As a whole, these results indicate that teleost fish, like mammals [39,48,65,68,96], birds [97,98,99,100], and reptilians [101,102], can use allocentric strategies to solve spatial tasks.”

Tolerance to partial losses of spatial information has been proposed to be a key characteristic of mammalian hippocampus-dependent map-like spatial memory.

“The tolerance to partial losses of spatial information has been proposed to be a key characteristic of the mammalian hippocampus-dependent map-like spatial memory”

Shortcutting and detouring behavior has been proposed as key evidence to distinguish allocentric navigation based on cognitive maps or survey representations from more simple navigational strategies.

“shortcutting and detouring behavior has been proposed as a key evidence to distinguish allocentric navigation based on cognitive maps or survey representations from more simple navigational strategies”

This inferential capability allows animals to plan their paths and to undertake flexible and purposive navigational responses.

“This inferential capability allows the animals to plan their paths and to undertake flexible and purposive navigational responses.”

The cognitive map view proposes that animals do not merely respond reflexively to cue stimuli, but instead acquire meaningful information about spatial relationships in the environment, enabling them to make inferences about how places are connected through unknown terrains.

“The cognitive map view proposes that the animals do not merely respond reflexively to the cue stimuli, but instead they acquire meaningful information about the spatial relationships in the environment, which enable them to make inferences (or to form “expectations”) about how places are connected through unknown terrains”

The medial pallium or hippocampus of land vertebrates plays a central role in allocentric spatial navigation.

“A considerable amount of evidence shows that the medial pallium or hippocampus of land vertebrates plays a central role in allocentric spatial navigation.”

Hippocampal lesions in mammals, birds, and reptiles produce impairments on spatial tasks that require the use of map-like or relational spatial memory.

“For example, in mammals [39,57,72,149], birds [97,98,99,150,151,152,153], and reptiles [112,154,155,156,157], the hippocampal lesions produce impairments on spatial tasks that require the use of map-like or relational spatial memory.”

Place cells, hippocampal neurons that fire when the animal occupies a particular location, are proposed as the higher instance of a brain system that builds map-like spatial memory representations anchored in the external world, contributing to allocentric navigation.

“The “place cells”, i.e., hippocampal neurons that fire when the animal occupies a particular location of the space, have been proposed to be the higher instance of a brain system that builds up map-like spatial memory representations anchored in the external world, contributing to the neural computations required for allocentric navigation [39,72,74,197,198].”