Summary

This review details the discovery and characterization of neuronal ensembles in the rodent hippocampus and entorhinal cortex that collectively form a cognitive map. The central thesis is that the brain employs a system of spatially tuned neurons, specifically place cells and grid cells, to represent an animal's position and navigate its environment. The review explains how these cell types, discovered through electrophysiological recordings, exhibit firing patterns that systematically encode spatial information, forming a foundational mechanism for spatial cognition.

The key ideas presented include the properties of place cells, which fire when an animal is in a specific location within an environment, and grid cells, located in the medial entorhinal cortex, which fire at multiple locations forming a hexagonal grid pattern across an environment. The review discusses how the integration of these signals supports cognitive mapping, path integration, and memory formation, providing a detailed account of the neural architecture underlying spatial representation and its functional implications.

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Key concepts

Place cells — Neurons in the hippocampus that fire when an animal occupies a specific location in an environment.
Grid cells — Neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex that fire at multiple locations forming a periodic, hexagonal lattice pattern.
Cognitive map — A neural representation of spatial information that allows for navigation and memory of environments.
Path integration — The process by which an animal keeps track of its position and orientation by integrating self-motion cues.