The cognitive map in humans: spatial navigation and beyond
Open accessAbstract
The 'cognitive map' hypothesis proposes that brain builds a unified representation of the spatial environment to support memory and guide future action. Forty years of electrophysiological research in rodents suggest that cognitive maps are neurally instantiated by place, grid, border and head direction cells in the hippocampal formation and related structures. Here we review recent work that suggests a similar functional organization in the human brain and yields insights into how cognitive maps are used during spatial navigation. Specifically, these studies indicate that (i) the human hippocampus and entorhinal cortex support map-like spatial codes, (ii) posterior brain regions such as parahippocampal and retrosplenial cortices provide critical inputs that allow cognitive maps to be anchored to fixed environmental landmarks, and (iii) hippocampal and entorhinal spatial codes are used in conjunction with frontal lobe mechanisms to plan routes during navigation. We also discuss how these three basic elements of cognitive map based navigation-spatial coding, landmark anchoring and route planning-might be applied to nonspatial domains to provide the building blocks for many core elements of human thought.
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For natural environments, memory of spatial navigational episodes mostly occurs against the backdrop of semantic knowledge and patterns extracted from previous experiences that shape expectations and guide behaviour.
“For natural environments, memory of spatial navigational episodes mostly occurs against the backdrop of semantic knowledge and patterns extracted from previous experiences that shape our expectations and guide actual behaviour2,5.”
From Long-term Memory Reorganization of Navigational Episodes (2026) · cites this paper as [2]
In “Navigating the past and the future” (page unavailable), the review says route planning uses representations laid down in the past and links the navigational system to episodic memory and prospective thinking. It does not establish that memories of spatial navigational episodes in natural environments mostly occur against a backdrop of semantic knowledge, or that patterns extracted from previous experiences generally shape expectations and actual behaviour. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMemory of navigational episodes emerges from the interaction of multiple parallel spatial representations, each supported by a widespread hippocampal-neocortical network.
“Taken together, our findings suggest that memory of navigational episodes emerges from the interaction of multiple parallel spatial representations, each supported by a widespread hippocampal–neocortical network2,5,38.”
From Long-term Memory Reorganization of Navigational Episodes (2026) · cites this paper as [2]
In “Representing space: Maps, Grids, and Contexts” (page unavailable), the review describes multiple spatial maps and roles for both hippocampal and neocortical regions in spatial memory. It calls how those regions interact to support different kinds of spatial knowledge an open question; it does not establish that each parallel representation is supported by a widespread hippocampal–neocortical network. The emergence of navigational-episode memory is framed in the citing sentence as the citing authors’ own inference. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredAnimal navigation research posits that organisms build and maintain internal spatial representations (maps) of their environment that enable them to determine and follow task-appropriate paths.
“Animal navigation research posits that organisms build and maintain internal spa- tial representations, or maps, of their environment.”
From Emergence of Maps in the Memories of Blind Navigation Agents (2023) · cites this paper as Epstein et al., 2017
In humans, generalizable spatial representations support interpretation of sensory input, anticipation of future events, and flexible adaptation to changing environments.
“In humans, generalizable spatial representations support interpretation of sensory input, anticipation of future events, and flexible adaptation to changing environments, from brewing coffee in a familiar kitchen to navigating an unfamiliar city3–5.”
From Brain-inspired spatial intelligence for embodied agents (2026) · cites this paper as [4]
Structured spatial memory is essential for guiding goal-directed behavior in complex real-world environments.
“Structured spatial memory is essential for guiding goal-directed behavior in complex real-world environments3–5, yet remains largely absent from current embodied agents.”
From Brain-inspired spatial intelligence for embodied agents (2026) · cites this paper as [4]
Spatial navigation is guided by an internal representation of spatial relations in a specific environment, referred to as a cognitive map.
“Spatial navigation is thought to be guided by the internal representation of spatial relations in a specific environment, referred to as a cognitive map [G] 2,9 .”
From From cognitive maps to spatial schemas (2023) · cites this paper as [2]
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Environmental Geometry Aligns the Hippocampal Map during Spatial Reorientation
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Self-citationScene Representations in Parahippocampal Cortex Depend on Temporal Context
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Self-citationPlace recognition and heading retrieval are mediated by dissociable cognitive systems in mice
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Self-citationCommon Neural Representations for Visually Guided Reorientation and Spatial Imagery
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Self-citationNeural Systems for Visual Scene Recognition
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Self-citationHippocampal Attractor Dynamics Predict Memory-Based Decision Making
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Repeating Spatial Activations in Human Entorhinal Cortex
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Geometric Cues Influence Head Direction Cells Only Weakly in Nondisoriented Rats
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Long-term consolidation switches goal proximity coding from hippocampus to retrosplenial cortexPreprint
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Navigating cognition: Spatial codes for human thinking
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Structuring knowledge with cognitive maps and cognitive graphs
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Self-citationEntropy of city street networks linked to future spatial navigation ability
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Self-citationPredictive maps in rats and humans for spatial navigation
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Self-citationFrom cognitive maps to spatial schemas
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Self-citationReward revaluation biases hippocampal replay content away from the preferred outcome
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How the Brain’s Navigation System Shapes Our Visual Experience
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Concepts in the Brain: The View From Cross-linguistic Diversity
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A neural circuit architecture for rapid learning in goal-directed navigation
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“While it is important to know how far it takes to traverse an environment – that is, distance knowledge – it is, arguably, more critical to know the direction of the intended destination (Epstein et al., 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialA neural circuit architecture for rapid behavioral flexibility in goal-directed navigation
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“Decades of research into intelligent animal navigation posits that organisms build and maintain internal spatial representations (or maps) 1 of their environment, that enables the organism to determine and follow task-appropriate paths (Tolman, 1948; O’keefe & Nadel, 1978; Epstein et al., 2017).”
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Long-term Memory Reorganization of Navigational Episodes
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“For natural environments, memory of spatial navigational episodes mostly occurs against the backdrop of semantic knowledge and patterns extracted from previous experiences that shape our expectations and guide actual behaviour 2,5 .”
Brain-inspired spatial intelligence for embodied agents
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- Authors
- Epstein, R. A., Patai, E. Z., Julian, J. B., & Spiers, H. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Epstein, Russell A
- Spiers, Hugo J
- Venue
- Nature Neuroscience
- Published
- 2017-11
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1504-1513
- ISSN
- 1097-6256 (ISSN-L)
- 1546-1726
- PMC
- PMC6028313
- OpenAlex
- W2765123421
- Cited by
- 921
- References
- 154
- Citations by year
- 2026: 125 · 2025: 148 · 2024: 130 · 2023: 100 · 2022: 106 · 2021: 108 · 2020: 82 · 2019: 82 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 2 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 4.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Wellcome Trust (094850/Z/10/Z)
- National Institutes of Health
- National Eye Institute (R01EY022350, R21EY027047)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Geography, Planning and Development › Geography Education and Pedagogy
- Keywords
- cognitive maps, spatial navigation, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, place cells, grid cells, border cells, head direction cells, route planning, parahippocampal cortex, retrosplenial cortex, frontal lobe, spatial memory
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Brain Mapping, Cognition, Humans, Spatial Navigation
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