head-direction cell

a type of neuron that discharges as a function of the orientation of an animal’s head within the environment. Head-direction cells are located in several regions of the brain, including the thalamus and mammillary bodies of the limbic system and the entorhinal cortex and subiculum of the medial temporal lobe memory system. Each has a preferred direction of maximal firing, and their combined activity is influenced by visual and other sensory inputs, motor feedback signals, and internally generated cues from the vestibular system and other interoceptive and proprioceptive sources. It has been suggested that the information head-direction cells provide is used by the animal to map its external space and that this representation of the environment then guides the animal’s navigational and other spatial behavior. [initially discovered in rats in 1984 by neuroscientist James B. Ranck Jr.]

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Psychology term of the day

February 25th 2025

perspective

1. the ability to view objects, events, and ideas in realistic proportions and relationships.

2. the ability to interpret relative position, size, and distance of objects in a plane surface as if they were three-dimensional.

3. the capacity of an individual to take into account and potentially understand the perceptions, attitudes, or behaviors of himself or herself and of other individuals.

4. a particular way of looking at events or situations: a stance or philosophical position.