Is there a geometric module for spatial orientation? Insights from a rodent navigation model.

Abstract

Modern psychological theories of spatial cognition postulate the existence of a geometric module for reorientation. This concept is derived from experimental data showing that in rectangular arenas with distinct landmarks in the corners, disoriented rats often make diagonal errors, suggesting their preference for the geometric (arena shape) over the nongeometric (landmarks) cues. Moreover, sensitivity of hippocampal cell firing to changes in the environment layout was taken in support of the geometric module hypothesis. Using a computational model of rat navigation, the authors proposed and tested the alternative hypothesis that the influence of spatial geometry on both behavioral and neuronal levels can be explained by the properties of visual features that constitute local views of the environment. Their modeling results suggest that the pattern of diagonal errors observed in reorientation tasks can be understood by the analysis of sensory information processing that underlies the navigation strategy employed to solve the task. In particular, 2 navigation strategies were considered: (a) a place-based locale strategy that relies on a model of grid and place cells and (b) a stimulus-response taxon strategy that involves direct association of local views with action choices. The authors showed that the application of the 2 strategies in the reorientation tasks results in different patterns of diagonal errors, consistent with behavioral data. These results argue against the geometric module hypothesis by providing a simpler and biologically more plausible explanation for the related experimental data. Moreover, the same model also describes behavioral results in different types of water-maze tasks.

Path planning versus cue responding: a bio-inspired model of switching between navigation strategies

“…During a reward-based goal planning phase, this representation is used to plan and execute goal-directed path. Since extra-maze cues are stable in the experiments that we will simulate, we use a simple model of Place Cells as described later (see Arleo and Gerstner 2000;Sheynikhovich et al 2009 for more detailed models of Place Cells that integrate information from distal cues and path integration). The population of Place Cells in our model is created before the learning is started, and the activity of place cell j is given by…”

25 years of research on the use of geometry in spatial reorientation: a current theoretical perspective

“…4 Hypothesized view matching in rats, from Sheynikhovich et al (2009). a A panoramic image from a location inside a square arena with a view of the surrounding room.…”

“…A neurally based two-factor computational theory A different neurally inspired model that also builds on ideas of the locale and taxon systems is a formal computational model proposed to explain some of the phenomena observed in research on the geometric module, as well as other data on spatial learning, such as behavior in the Morris swimming pool (Sheynikhovich et al, 2009). Sheynikhovich et al's taxon system is based directly on views, in that representations of views are used to direct behavior.…”

“…Encoding locations with respect to boundaries is said to differ from encoding locations with respect to isolated landmarks. Another approach is a neurally based twofactor computational theory (which also builds on some ideas of view matching), proposed by Sheynikhovich, Chavarriaga, Strösslin, Arleo, and Gerstner (2009).…”

Minimal Model of Strategy Switching in the Plus-Maze Navigation Task

“…Basic learning equations implemented standard Q-learning algorithm [10] in which states and actions were encoded in the firing rates of activities of artificial neurons [12,13]. More precisely, a state s t at time t was represented by the activities of state units r state i (t), which projected via connections with weights w ij to action units with activities r action i :…”