The brain contains a coordinate system for navigating space. Grid cells fire in a striking hexagonal pattern as an animal moves, forming a mental map. The discovery illuminated how we know where we are.
A hexagonal code
The pattern is geometric. Cells fire at the vertices of a triangular grid. The regularity is uncanny.
A cognitive map
Space is encoded. Together with place cells, grids chart the environment. Navigation has a basis.
Entorhinal cortex
Location is known. The cells sit in a region feeding the hippocampus. Circuits are mapped.
Beyond space
Generalization emerged. Grid-like codes may organize abstract concepts too. Cognition may reuse the map.
A Nobel discovery
Recognition came. The finding earned a Nobel Prize. Its influence is deep.
Ongoing study
Questions remain. How grids form is still probed. Research continues.
The bottom line
Grid cells fire in a hexagonal pattern to form the brain’s inner map of space, working with place cells. The discovery won a Nobel Prize. Grid-like codes may also organize abstract thought.
