Running into a literal boundary aids reorientation, mouse study shows
Hardcastle et al/Neuron, 2015
If you’re ever lost in Los Angeles, just head for the ocean to get your bearings. This advice works because running into the coast — or any other border — can reset an errant internal GPS system, a new study in mice suggests.
The results help explain how the brain maintains a high-fidelity map of the environment. Specialized brain cells called grid cells signal when an animal reaches certain locales — a discovery that garnered a Nobel Prize in 2014 (SN Online, 10/6/14). Boundaries help course-correct these cells when they go off track, researchers report April 16 in Neuron.
In the experiment, electrodes implanted in the brain monitored the behavior of grid cells as mice moved around in an expansive enclosure. As the mice traveled, grid