title: Spatial cognition in bats and rats: from sensory acquisition to multiscale maps and navigation.
abstract: Spatial orientation and navigation rely on the acquisition of several types of sensory information. This information is then transformed into a neural code for space in the hippocampal formation through the activity of place cells, grid cells and head-direction cells. These spatial representations, in turn, are thought to guide long-range navigation. But how the representations encoded by these different cell types are integrated in the brain to form a neural 'map and compass' is largely unknown. Here, we discuss this problem in the context of spatial navigation by bats and rats. We review the experimental findings and theoretical models that provide insight into the mechanisms that link sensory systems to spatial representations and to large-scale natural navigation.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. [2] Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geva-Sagiv
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Liora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Las
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
authors.forename: Yossi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yovel
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Nachum
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ulanovsky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002685:Chiroptera; D008959:Models, Neurological; D051381:Rats; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000502:physiology*