Goal Navigation Research Articles

Erratum to: Odour supported place cell model and goal navigation in rodents

Erratum to: J Comput Neurosci DOI 10.1007/s10827-008-0090-x The original version of this article should have the following acknowledgement: “FW and TK acknowledge financial support by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) via the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) Gottingen under Grant No. 01GQ0432.”

The use of stored local views in searching for a hidden goal in a virtual arena

Event Abstract Back to Event The use of stored local views in searching for a hidden goal in a virtual arena Iveta Fajnerova1*, Kamil Vlcek1, Cyril Brom2, Jiri Lukavsky1, Michal Bida2, Zbynek Krulich3 and Jan Bures1 1 ASCR, Institute of Physiology, Czechia 2 Charles University , Faculty of Mathematics-Physics, Czechia 3 Academy of Arts Architecture and Design Prague, Czechia The cognitive ability to find the way in our everyday environment is still not fully understood, although there are several theories and models trying to explain it. The Cognitive map theory [1] predicts disruption of the goal navigation by the configuration changes but not by removal of any single cue. This theory is supported by some virtual navigation experiments in human even though other results seem to contradict it and support the use of stored local views of the environment. To examine this, we have designed an experiment in a virtual environment, which allowed us configuration changes of the experimental space and detailed recording of the subject’s behaviour. We used the virtual Blue Velvet Arena (BVA), which is a real space circular arena used for clinical assessment in Prague Hospital Motol. By linking positional and turning information with eye movement tracking apparatus we have studied also the scenes viewed during navigation. A group of participants searched for an invisible target on the floor of the circular arena which was fixed relative to distal orientation cues placed on the arena wall. After varied amount of acquisition trials they were supposed to estimate the target position with unannounced cue deletion or cue configuration change. Data measured using cue deletion indicate that after short learning only one cue is used for estimation of target position, while with more acquisition trials the target position relative to each cue is known, but the relative configuration of these cues plays weaker role. We haven't find influence of configuration change or cue deletion on navigation performance. Our results support the hypothesis of the stored local views. Possibly, higher degree of immersion or real space navigation can support the use of configuration information. Supported by grants GACR 309/09/0286, by the MSMT CR 1M0517, LC554 and MSM0021620838, and by the Program “Information Society” 1ET100300517.

Odor supported place cell model and goal navigation in rodents.

Experiments with rodents demonstrate that visual cues play an important role in the control of hippocampal place cells and spatial navigation. Nevertheless, rats may also rely on auditory, olfactory and somatosensory stimuli for orientation. It is also known that rats can track odors or self-generated scent marks to find a food source. Here we model odor supported place cells by using a simple feed-forward network and analyze the impact of olfactory cues on place cell formation and spatial navigation. The obtained place cells are used to solve a goal navigation task by a novel mechanism based on self-marking by odor patches combined with a Q-learning algorithm. We also analyze the impact of place cell remapping on goal directed behavior when switching between two environments. We emphasize the importance of olfactory cues in place cell formation and show that the utility of environmental and self-generated olfactory cues, together with a mixed navigation strategy, improves goal directed navigation.

Goal navigation and island-finding in sea turtles

Juvenile and adult sea turtles often navigate to specific feeding areas during long-distance migrations, and adults periodically return to particular geographic areas for mating and nesting. In addition, turtles displaced from feeding or nesting areas often home to the site of capture. Relatively little is known, however, about how turtles navigate to particular goal areas. Both juvenile and adult turtles use the Earth's magnetic field as a source of navigational information. Laboratory experiments have provided evidence that juvenile green turtles learn the magnetic topography of their feeding grounds and acquire a “magnetic map” that facilitates navigation toward particular locations. Adult green turtles displaced from nesting beaches on an island in the Indian Ocean showed diminished homing ability when magnets were attached to their heads, implying that mature turtles also exploit magnetic cues when navigating to islands or other specific destinations. Although geomagnetic information appears to be an important component of sea turtle navigation, it is unlikely to be the only cue used. Additional experiments in which nesting green turtles were displaced from islands have highlighted the possible involvement of local, non-magnetic cues in the final phase of island-finding. Thus, a reasonable hypothesis is that turtles use multiple cues to navigate in the marine environment, perhaps relying on a magnetic map to navigate into the vicinity of a distant target and then using non-magnetic cues to guide themselves to the final goal.

Development of place cells by a simple model in a closed loop context

Experiments on rats show that visual cues play an important role in the formation of place cells. Nevertheless, rats also rely on other allothetic non-visual stimuli such as auditory, olfactory and somatosensory stimuli. Most researchers have seen navigation in the dark as evidence for the importance of path integration as an additional input to place cells. Many place cell models have been developed by combining visual and self motion (path integration) information. However, Save et al. have shown that olfactory cues rather than self-motion information have been used to stabilize the place fields (PF) of rats in the dark [1]. Based on these findings we model place cells by combining visual and olfactory information in a feed-forward network. We also analyze the influence of the directionality of place cells on a goal navigation task.

The boat/helmsman

The founding metaphor of cybernetics is re-examined. The helmsman is part of a body- object hybrid that is terrain-dependent. The available palette of behaviours can only be understood in this way. The boat/helmsman hybrid demonstrates moment-to-moment feedback characteristics that include a form of damping which is based on the hybrid's previous history. The moment-to-moment goal is a direction over water, not a destination. End goal navigation is based on prediction and depends on a map and a plan. The boat/helmsman metaphor places the physical characteristics of an entity on an equal footing with the flow of information within and without it.

Look and turn: landmark-based goal navigation in honey bees

This report describes the piloting mechanisms employed by honey bees during their final approach to a goal. Conceptually applying a bottom-up approach, we systematically varied the position, number and appearance landmarks associated with a rewarded target location within a large, homogenous flight tent. The flight behavior measured under various conditions is well explained with visuo-motor control loops that link perceived landmarks with appropriate turning responses. This view is consistent with the requirement of prolonged reinforcement learning for efficient goal navigation. A simple model is able to provide a comprehensive explanation for diverse flight patterns that range from convoluted searching behavior to highly idiosyncratic approaches, depending on the experimental context. Our results challenge the prevalent notion that honey bees employ image matching for visual guidance toward a goal site. Basic visuo-motor control loops may better meet the high demands for robust and fast flight control, which could serve as a powerful bio-mimetic design principle for micro-robotic aircraft.

A biophysical implementation of a bidirectional graph search algorithm to solve multiple goal navigation tasks

The model presented here extends formal analysis (Hasselmo et al., Neural Networks, 15, pp. 689-707, 2002b) and abstract modelling (Gorchetchnikov and Hasselmo, Neurocomputing, 44-46, pp. 423-427, 2002a) of interactions within the hippocampal area (or other cortical areas), which can be flexibly used to navigate toward any arbitrary goal or multiple goals that change on a trial-by-trial basis. The algorithm is a version of a bidirectional breadth-first graph search implemented in simulated neurons using two flows of neural activity. The new model changes the continuous firing rate neuronal representations (Gorchetchnikov and Hasselmo 2002a) to more detailed compartmental versions with realistic parameters, while preserving the qualitative properties analysed previously (Hasselmo et al., 2002b, Gorchetchnikov and Hasselmo 2002a). The case of multiple goals being present in the environment is studied in this paper. The first set of simulations tests the algorithm in the selection of the closest goal. A small difference in distance between the simulated animal and different goals is sufficient for a correct selection. The second set of simulations studies the behaviour of the model when the goals have different saliences. A small salience-based difference between firing rates of the cells providing goal-related input to the model is sufficient for the selection of a more salient goal. This behaviour was tested in three types of environments: a linear track, a T-maze and an open field. Further investigation of quantitative properties of the model should allow it to handle cases when the exact location of the goal is uncertain.

Hippocampal formation is required for geometric navigation in pigeons.

The geometric properties of bounded space have attracted considerable attention as a source of spatial information that can guide goal navigation. Although the use of geometric information to navigate has been observed in every species studied to date, the neural mechanisms that support the representation of geometric information are still debated. With the purpose of investigating this topic, we trained pigeons with lesion to the hippocampal formation to search for food in a rectangular-shaped arena containing one wall of a different color that served as the only distinctive environmental feature. Although lesioned pigeons learned the task even faster than control animals, probe trials showed that they were insensitive to geometric information. Control animals could encode and use both geometric and feature information to locate the goal. By contrast, lesioned pigeons relied exclusively on the feature information provided by the wall of a different color. The results indicate that the avian hippocampal formation is critical for learning the geometric properties of space in homing pigeons.