DeDe宝
(2025-09-01 23:42):
#paper doi: //doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1765-24.2025, 2025, A Neural Compass in the Human Brain during Naturalistic Virtual Navigation. JN
在动态导航过程中维持面朝向是(facing direction, FD)有效导航的重要基础,但人类的相关脑机制尚未被完全解析。在本研究中,研究者通过fMRI技术记录了参与者在虚拟城市中执行导航任务时的大脑活动,以识别与FD相关的脑区。研究使用三个编码模型分析FD信号。首先,通过motion energy model剔除与运动相关的干扰信号。然后,通过FD-adaptation model提取和FD-adaptation效应(当被试持续面向同一方向时,大脑中的某些区域会出现适应效应,即BOLD信号会减少)相关的ROI。最后,用FD activation model同时检验与FD-adaptation、FD activation都相关的脑区。编码模型分析显示,RSC和SPL中的体素簇表现出可靠的方向调节。而且,这些区域的方向调节在不同任务阶段、不同环境和不同时间段都保持一致性,说明这些脑区与FD 密切相关。此外,模型权重分析表明,人类被试的FD可能通过与主轴(东西南北)的角度差表示。这些发现揭示了人类大脑中使我们能够在自然动态导航过程中保持方向感的特定机制。
The Journal of Neuroscience,
2025-8-20.
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1765-24.2025
A Neural Compass in the Human Brain during Naturalistic Virtual Navigation
翻译
Abstract:
A central component of wayfinding is the ability to maintain a consistent representation of one's facing direction (FD) when moving about the world. In rodents, head direction cells are believed to support this “neural compass,” but identifying a similar mechanism in humans during dynamic naturalistic navigation has been challenging. To address this issue, we acquired fMRI data from male and female human participants while they freely navigated through a virtual reality city. Encoding model analyses revealed voxel clusters in the posterior–medial cortex (the “retrosplenial complex”) and superior parietal lobule that exhibited reliable tuning as a function of FD. Crucially, these directional tunings were consistent across perceptually different versions of the city, spatially separated locations within the city, and motivationally distinct phases of the behavioral task. Analysis of the model weights indicated that these regions represent a broad range of possible FDs and that they do so by representing heading relative to the principal axis of the environment. These findings reveal specific mechanisms in the human brain that allow us to maintain a sense of direction during naturalistic, dynamic navigation.
翻译
Related Links: