A hippocampal navigation model through hierarchical memory organization.

Abstract

Animals in nature exhibit exceptional navigational abilities, primarily due to the hippocampus's capacity to form and utilize spatial and non-spatial memories. However, existing models often fail to accurately capture the dynamic interplay between different hippocampal regions. This study presents a unified navigation model inspired by the functional interactions between the hippocampus and surrounding neural circuits, with a focus on the transition mechanisms between vector-based navigation, controlled by grid cells, and hierarchical memory-based navigation, coordinated by the ventral-dorsal hippocampal axis. Simulations show that the model effectively replicates complex path-planning behaviors, such as robust direction selection and efficient shortcut finding, similar to those observed in advanced animals. Furthermore, simulations of hippocampal lesions indicate that ventral lesions increase cognitive load without disrupting planned paths, while dorsal lesions cause additional trajectory oscillations due to impaired spatial memory recall. These findings provide new insights into hippocampal navigation strategies and suggest potential applications for studying memory, learning, and cognitive function across various contexts.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-025-10254-w.