Sense of Direction

The sense of direction is a fascinating and essential aspect of human and animal behaviour that involves the ability to orient oneself in space and navigate through the environment. Discover the science behind how different species, from insects to humans, find their way and establish spatial relationships, including the role of sensory inputs, memory, learning, and cognitive processes. Learn about the factors that affect the sense of direction, from genetics and age to culture and experience, and the impact of technology and environment on wayfinding. Explore the practical applications of the sense of direction research, from urban planning to medicine, and this knowledge’s ethical and social implications. Discover our resources and expert insights on the sense of direction and expand your understanding of this fascinating and complex topic.

Path integration

Adelaide Sibeaux 1 , Cait Newport1, Jonathan P. Green1, Cecilia Karlsson 2, Jacob Engelmann 3 & Theresa Burt de Perera1 have recently published a paper showing that fishes as well as other animals use path integration to find their way home.   I believe this is very important and probably the main way we navigate. Path integration maybe the way…

A conceptual framework on the role of magnetic cues in songbird migration ecology

This paper is difficult to understand but it summarises the work on animal navigation to date.  The key is that all the research which is confident that animals navigate using magnetic cues are not necessarily the whole story and that all navigators use all the clues they can get to help them.  Recently there was…

Atlantic herring use a time-compensated sun compass for orientation

Lisa Spiecker1,*,‡, Malien Laurien1,*, Wiebke Dammann1, Andrea Franke2,3, Catriona Clemmesen4 and Gabriele Gerlach1,2 ABSTRACT Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), an ecologically and economically important species in the northern hemisphere, shows pronounced seasonal migratory behaviour. To follow distinctive migration patterns over hundreds of kilometers between feeding, overwintering and spawning grounds, they are probably guided by orientation mechanisms. We…

Predictive maps in rats and humans for spatial navigation

Highlights We tested humans, rats, and RL agents on a novel modular maze Humans and rats were remarkably similar in their choice of trajectories Both species were most similar to agents utilizing a SR Humans also displayed features of model-based planning in early trials Authors William de Cothi, Nils Nyberg, Eva-Maria Griesbauer, …,E ́ le onore Duvelle, Caswell…