title: Grid-cell representations in mental simulation.
abstract: Anticipating the future is a key motif of the brain, possibly supported by mental simulation of upcoming events. Rodent single-cell recordings suggest the ability of spatially tuned cells to represent subsequent locations. Grid-like representations have been observed in the human entorhinal cortex during virtual and imagined navigation. However, hitherto it remains unknown if grid-like representations contribute to mental simulation in the absence of imagined movement. Participants imagined directions between building locations in a large-scale virtual-reality city while undergoing fMRI without re-exposure to the environment. Using multi-voxel pattern analysis, we provide evidence for representations of absolute imagined direction at a resolution of 30° in the parahippocampal gyrus, consistent with the head-direction system. Furthermore, we capitalize on the six-fold rotational symmetry of grid-cell firing to demonstrate a 60° periodic pattern-similarity structure in the entorhinal cortex. Our findings imply a role of the entorhinal grid-system in mental simulation and future thinking beyond spatial navigation.
authors: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors: Jacob Ls
authors: 0000-0002-2098-4487
authors: JL
authors: Bellmund
authors: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors: Lorena
authors: 0000-0002-4939-5862
authors: L
authors: Deuker
authors: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors: Tobias
authors: 0000-0001-6498-1846
authors: T
authors: Navarro Schröder
authors: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors: Christian F
authors: CF
authors: Doeller
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D000071038:Grid Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception; D065852:Spatial Memory; D065854:Spatial Navigation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: fMRI; grid cells; human; imagination; navigation; neuroscience; planning; spatial cognition