BIO

Kelly Kennedy is a first year student at Florida State University majoring in biomathematics and minoring in music. She is from Leesburg, GA, where she participated in her community theatre, beta club, and math team. At FSU, she is a member of Urop, FSU Homecoming, and the Brain Exercise Initiative. She is currently working in the Wilber lab researching neural stiumulus and spatial orientation in rodent models. Her future research interests include the impact of music on the brain, as well as Alzheimers disease's impact on the brain. She would like to thank Dr. Aaron Wilber and Yicheng Zheng for the opportunity to work in their lab through UROP and their continued support throughout this process!

Examining Neural Networks for Allocentric and Egocentric Coordination for Spatial Navigation

Abstract

Spatial orientation is the process by which living things perceive and navigate
through their environment, which is necessary to the functioning of all organisms.
This process can be allocentric, which is based on landmarks and cardinal
directions [1], or egocentric in which body orientation is referenced instead (left,
right as opposed to east, west) [2]. Both forms of spatial orientation interact [3],
for example allocentric information can be decoded to determine a subject’s
egocentric orientation and vice versa. In this study, we hope to analyze elements
of both the parietal cortex, which has previously been known to include both
allocentric and egocentric encoding [4], and the allocentric-based hippocampus
[1] in determining when and where these forms of reference are transformed.

Keywords: neuroscience, brain, parietal cortex, rodent model