Specialized Neurons Control Bat Navigation
Alison Abbott, Nature News
Bats have brain cells that keep track of their angle and distance to a target, researchers have discovered. The neurons, called vector cells', are a key piece of the mammalian's brain complex navigation system and something that neuroscientists have been seeking for years.Our brain's navigation system has many types of cells, but a lot of them seem designed to keep track of where we are. Researchers know of place' cells, for example, which fire when animals are in a particular location, and head direction' cells that fire in response to changes in the direction the head is...
Bats have brain cells that keep track of their angle and distance to a target, researchers have discovered. The neurons, called vector cells', are a key piece of the mammalian's brain complex navigation system and something that neuroscientists have been seeking for years.Our brain's navigation system has many types of cells, but a lot of them seem designed to keep track of where we are. Researchers know of place' cells, for example, which fire when animals are in a particular location, and head direction' cells that fire in response to changes in the direction the head is...