Dissociable cognitive mechanisms underlying human path integration
Authors: Wiener, J.M., Berthoz, A. and Wolbers, T.
Journal: Experimental Brain Research
Volume: 208
Issue: 1
Pages: 61-71
ISSN: 0014-4819
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-010-2460-7
Abstract:Path integration is a fundamental mechanism of spatial navigation. In non-human species, it is assumed to be an online process in which a homing vector is updated continuously during an outward journey. In contrast, human path integration has been conceptualized as a configural process in which travelers store working memory representations of path segments, with the computation of a homing vector only occurring when required. To resolve this apparent discrepancy, we tested whether humans can employ different path integration strategies in the same task. Using a triangle completion paradigm, participants were instructed either to continuously update the start position during locomotion (continuous strategy) or to remember the shape of the outbound path and to calculate home vectors on basis of this representation (configural strategy). While overall homing accuracy was superior in the configural condition, participants were quicker to respond during continuous updating, strongly suggesting that homing vectors were computed online. Corroborating these findings, we observed reliable differences in head orientation during the outbound path: when participants applied the continuous updating strategy, the head deviated significantly from straight ahead in direction of the start place, which can be interpreted as a continuous motor expression of the homing vector. Head orientation-a novel online measure for path integration-can thus inform about the underlying updating mechanism already during locomotion. In addition to demonstrating that humans can employ different cognitive strategies during path integration, our two-systems view helps to resolve recent controversies regarding the role of the medial temporal lobe in human path integration. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.
Source: Scopus
Dissociable cognitive mechanisms underlying human path integration.
Authors: Wiener, J.M., Berthoz, A. and Wolbers, T.
Journal: Exp Brain Res
Volume: 208
Issue: 1
Pages: 61-71
eISSN: 1432-1106
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-010-2460-7
Abstract:Path integration is a fundamental mechanism of spatial navigation. In non-human species, it is assumed to be an online process in which a homing vector is updated continuously during an outward journey. In contrast, human path integration has been conceptualized as a configural process in which travelers store working memory representations of path segments, with the computation of a homing vector only occurring when required. To resolve this apparent discrepancy, we tested whether humans can employ different path integration strategies in the same task. Using a triangle completion paradigm, participants were instructed either to continuously update the start position during locomotion (continuous strategy) or to remember the shape of the outbound path and to calculate home vectors on basis of this representation (configural strategy). While overall homing accuracy was superior in the configural condition, participants were quicker to respond during continuous updating, strongly suggesting that homing vectors were computed online. Corroborating these findings, we observed reliable differences in head orientation during the outbound path: when participants applied the continuous updating strategy, the head deviated significantly from straight ahead in direction of the start place, which can be interpreted as a continuous motor expression of the homing vector. Head orientation-a novel online measure for path integration-can thus inform about the underlying updating mechanism already during locomotion. In addition to demonstrating that humans can employ different cognitive strategies during path integration, our two-systems view helps to resolve recent controversies regarding the role of the medial temporal lobe in human path integration.
Source: PubMed
Dissociable cognitive mechanisms underlying human path integration
Authors: Wiener, J.M., Berthoz, A. and Wolbers, T.
Journal: EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH
Volume: 208
Issue: 1
Pages: 61-71
eISSN: 1432-1106
ISSN: 0014-4819
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-010-2460-7
Source: Web of Science (Lite)
Dissociable cognitive mechanisms underlying human path integration
Authors: Wiener, J.M., Berthoz, A. and Wolbers, T.
Journal: Experimental Brain Research
Volume: 208
Issue: 1
Pages: 61-71
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-010-2460-7
Source: Manual
Preferred by: Jan Wiener
Dissociable cognitive mechanisms underlying human path integration.
Authors: Wiener, J.M., Berthoz, A. and Wolbers, T.
Journal: Experimental brain research
Volume: 208
Issue: 1
Pages: 61-71
eISSN: 1432-1106
ISSN: 0014-4819
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-010-2460-7
Abstract:Path integration is a fundamental mechanism of spatial navigation. In non-human species, it is assumed to be an online process in which a homing vector is updated continuously during an outward journey. In contrast, human path integration has been conceptualized as a configural process in which travelers store working memory representations of path segments, with the computation of a homing vector only occurring when required. To resolve this apparent discrepancy, we tested whether humans can employ different path integration strategies in the same task. Using a triangle completion paradigm, participants were instructed either to continuously update the start position during locomotion (continuous strategy) or to remember the shape of the outbound path and to calculate home vectors on basis of this representation (configural strategy). While overall homing accuracy was superior in the configural condition, participants were quicker to respond during continuous updating, strongly suggesting that homing vectors were computed online. Corroborating these findings, we observed reliable differences in head orientation during the outbound path: when participants applied the continuous updating strategy, the head deviated significantly from straight ahead in direction of the start place, which can be interpreted as a continuous motor expression of the homing vector. Head orientation-a novel online measure for path integration-can thus inform about the underlying updating mechanism already during locomotion. In addition to demonstrating that humans can employ different cognitive strategies during path integration, our two-systems view helps to resolve recent controversies regarding the role of the medial temporal lobe in human path integration.
Source: Europe PubMed Central