Representing place locations and orientations in cognitive maps

Human navigation relies on multiple levels of spatial knowledge, including place knowledge, route knowledge (sequences of places) and map-like survey knowledge, which encodes straight-line spatial relationships among places. Survey knowledge is often referred to as a cognitive map, a concept proposed nearly 80 years ago. In this Review, I examine the situations in which humans seem to navigate using cognitive maps, focusing on the role of environmental variables and cognitive processes. I begin by reviewing studies in vista environments, where clear straight-line spatial relations facilitate the formation of a cognitive map. Then I review research on large-scale environments, highlighting reliance on path integration and the influence of path complexity. Throughout, I differentiate between cognitive maps focused solely on place location and those that incorporate place orientation. Whereas straight-line pointing based on verbally instructed orientation requires only a cognitive map of place location, pointing from view-based orientations might require cognitive maps that encode place orientation. Future research should investigate the conditions that foster each type of cognitive map, as well as those under which cognitive maps do not form. Human navigation involves encoding spatial relationships among places. In this Review, Mou examines the use of cognitive maps for navigation and the circumstances in which both place and orientation information are encoded.