Cognitive Map: Universal Code for Learning and Memory

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.220105.019How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Cognitive map; Spatial navigation; Hippocampus; Medial temporal lobe; Prefrontal cortex

Abstract

Ever since the discovery of place cells, the conception of the cognitive map has revived and the intriguing assumption that spatial navigation system also encodes other cognitive functions has aroused interest among neuroscientists. Though the hypothesis has been viewed with some skepticism, evidence gradually accumulated in the last decade, especially with regard to more abstract functions of the human brain. Drawing on the most recent experimental results, this theoretical literature review attempted to further assess the possibility that the human brain processes various kinds of information by constructing cognitive maps and uncover some of its governing principles. Conclusions are that recent evidence generally supports the hypothesis, though the characteristics of spatial map and cognitive map exhibit differences. Moreover, time scale and reference frame are two variables that determine the neural activity during cognitive tasks, more specifically, the brain regions that exhibit signals that are thought to reflect the participation of cognitive maps vary with changes in time scale and reference frame. Therefore, these two variables should be taken into account when designing experiments and interpreting the results. The review will help guide future exploration of the cognitive map, which is a promising candidate for unraveling the universal rule of human cognition.

Copyright

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

Open Access

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ran Cheng
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/01/17
TI  - Cognitive Map: Universal Code for Learning and Memory
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 90
EP  - 94
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220105.019
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.220105.019
ID  - Cheng2022
ER  -