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Finding the Way

Role of the retrosplenial cortex region of the brain in spatial orientation

17 August 2021

Finding the Way

It’s easy to get lost somewhere new, but have you ever struggled for a moment to place yourself even somewhere familiar? Disorientation is common in people with damage to a particular part of the brain – the retrosplenial cortex (pictured, from a mouse) – but we don’t know how it commands our sense of space. To investigate, researchers examined neurons unique to this area of the brain (white), and found that inputs from other brain regions (blue and pink) involved in positioning communicated preferentially with them. These specialised neurons interpret spatial signals to help the mice determine the position and movement of their heads, suggesting they would be well equipped to deal with other spatial information. It's one of the first brain regions to show altered activity in people with Alzheimer’s disease, who often show similar disorientation to those with brain damage, so investigating these key neurons could lead to new ways forward.

Written by Anthony Lewis

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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