ABSTRACT
Spatial orientation is an essential capability of almost all animals; hence, the extensive research in this area, including investigations of its neurobiological basis. In humans, two main methods have been applied in this neurobiological analysis: investigating patients with focal brain lesions and studying the pattern of brain activation associated with types of spatial orientation activity (Burgess, Jeffery, & O’Keefe, 1999). The aim of this chapter is to review progress in both these methods with specific reference to recent studies conducted by Morris and coworkers (e.g., Abrahams, Pickering, Jarosz, Cox, & Morris, 1999; Abrahams, Pickering, Polkey, & Morris, 1997; Feigenbaum, Polkey, & Morris, 1996; Nunn, Graydon, Polkey, & Morris, 1999; Nunn, Polkey, & Morris, 1998; Worsley et al., 2001). Such studies distinguish between different types of memory representations and their relation to the network of neuronal structures that support spatial orientation.
