entorhinal cortex

The Brain Cells behind a Sense of Direction

Goal-direction cells add to Nobel Prize–winning discoveries to reveal our internal navigation system

By Simon Makin | Apr 9, 2015

ISTOCKPHOTO

After wandering around an unfamiliar part of town, can you sense which direction to travel to get back to the subway or your car? If so, you can thank your entorhinal cortex, a brain area recently identified as being responsible for our sense of direction. Variation in the signals in this area might even explain why some people are better navigators than others./.../