On the spatial information used by the neural substrates of navigation

Behavioral work suggests that the frame of reference used by rats to orient themselves in space is based on a selective spatial information processing system. Distal cues and global configurations are preferred over local landmarks and featural details. Recordings of neuronal unit activity in the hippocampus of freely moving rats show that the hippocampal place cell system can be also described as a selective spatial information processing system that primarily processes the overall geometric structure of the environment and configurations of distal cues. These converging properties of behavior and neural activity support the hypothesis that the hippocampus has a specific function in spatial mapping, and can be explained by the specific advantages provided by configural/distal information for spatial navigation. Regarding the constraints imposed on the types of cues that are useful for spatial computations, it appears that configural information improves the reliability of spatial computations, and that distal landmarks of the sort available in laboratory environments satisfy a number of complementary requirements for improving the precision of positional and directional calculations.