Research Symposium

BIO

I’m a first year Cell and Molecular Neuroscience major on a pre-medical track. The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program has provided me with my first experience in research and has helped further my passion for neuroscience and interest in research within the field. I hope to continue research in neuroscience throughout my undergraduate career.

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, Psychology, Spatial Navigation, Neural Networks