It is a prevailing theoretical claim that path integration is the primary means of developing global spatial representations. However, this claim is at odds with reported difficulty to develop global spatial representations of a multiscale environment using path integration. The current study tested a new hypothesis that locally similar but…

In three experiments, the nature of the interaction between multiple memory systems in rats solving a variation of a spatial task in the water maze was investigated. Throughout training rats were able to find a submerged platform at a fixed distance and direction from an intramaze landmark by learning a landmark-goal vector. Extramaze cues were…

Theories of cognitive development must address both the issue of how children bring their knowledge to bear on behavior in-the-moment, and how knowledge changes over time. We argue that seeking answers to these questions requires an appreciation of the dynamic nature of the developing system in its full, reciprocal complexity. We illustrate this…

The occurrence of spontaneous recovery in human spatial memory was assessed using a virtual environment. In Experiment 1, spatial memory was established by training participants to locate a hidden platform in a virtual water maze using a set of four distal landmarks. In Experiment 2, after learning about the location of a hidden platform, the…

There are marked individual differences in the formation of cognitive maps both in the real world and in virtual environments (VE; e.g., Blajenkova, Motes, & Kozhevnikov, 2005; Chai & Jacobs, 2010; Ishikawa & Montello, 2006; Wen, Ishikawa, & Sato, 2011). These differences, however, are poorly understood and can be difficult to…

We investigated how humans encode large-scale spatial environments using a virtual taxi game. We hypothesized that if 2 connected neighborhoods are explored jointly, people will form a single integrated spatial representation of the town. However, if the neighborhoods are first learned separately and later observed to be connected, people will…

Spatial cognition is a branch of cognitive psychology that studies how people acquire and use knowledge about their environment to determine where they are, how to obtain resources, and how to find their way home. Researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including neuroscience, cognition, and sociology, have discovered a great deal about how…

Humans and animals form internal representations of external space based on their own body movement (dead reckoning) as well as external landmarks. It is poorly understood, however, how different types of information are integrated to form a unified representation of external space. To examine the role of dentate gyrus (DG) in this process, we…

We recently described a critical role for adrenergic signaling in the hippocampus during contextual and spatial memory retrieval. To determine which neurons are activated by contextual memory retrieval and its sequelae in the presence and absence of adrenergic signaling, transcriptional imaging for the immediate-early gene "Arc" was used in…

Comparison for memory for spatial location of 30 persons with and 30 persons without mental retardation found the control group recalled more intentionally learned than incidentally learned locations. The experimental group performed better after incidental learning than after intentional learning and scored as highly as controls on incidental…

Individuals' mental maps of the world are highly misrepresentative of the actual world. Availability in memory partly explains the reasons for this misrepresentation. When asked to place the 50 states in their correct locations, students have difficulty with states not in close proximity to their own because of availability, such that the…

Impairment of hippocampal function precedes frontal and parietal cortex impairment in human Alzheimer's disease(AD). Neurotrophins are critical for behavioral performance and neuronal survival in AD. We used complex and radial mazes to assess spatial orientation and learning in wild-type and B6-Tg(ThylAPP)23Sdz (APP23) animals, a transgenic mouse…