Neuronal representation of environmental boundaries in egocentric coordinates

Abstract

Movement through space is a fundamental behavior for all animals. Cognitive maps of environments are encoded in the hippocampal formation in an allocentric reference frame, but motor movements that comprise physical navigation are represented within an egocentric reference frame. Allocentric navigational plans must be converted to an egocentric reference frame prior to implementation as overt behavior. Here we describe an egocentric spatial representation of environmental boundaries in the dorsomedial striatum.