neuroscience – The Map Room https://www.maproomblog.com Blogging about maps since 2003 Tue, 11 Jun 2019 12:28:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.maproomblog.com/xq/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cropped-logo-2017-04-32x32.jpg neuroscience – The Map Room https://www.maproomblog.com 32 32 116787204 Wayfinding: A New Book about the Neuroscience of Navigation https://www.maproomblog.com/2019/06/wayfinding-a-new-book-about-the-neuroscience-of-navigation/ Mon, 10 Jun 2019 18:34:34 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1787422 More]]> M. R. O’Connor’s book Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World came out in April from St. Martin’s Press. Not coincidentally, she’s published a couple of pieces on the subject of that book, both of which focus on humans’ ability to pay attention to their surroundings, and the effect that relying on GPS directions might have on that ability. In a piece for Undark, O’Connor argues that “our unshakeable trust in GPS,” which traces itself back through hundreds of years of believing in the infallibility of maps, gets us lost because we’re relying on the device rather than our senses. Her piece for the Washington Post focuses on the role of the hippocampus in navigation and spatial awareness, and the need to exercise that part of the brain.

This is not the first book on the subject: Greg Milner published Pinpoint in 2016 (previously). See also: Satnavs and ‘Switching Off’ the Brain.

]]> 1787422 Are People with a Good Sense of Smell Better Navigators? https://www.maproomblog.com/2018/10/are-people-with-a-good-sense-of-smell-better-navigators/ Wed, 17 Oct 2018 16:14:19 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1786428 More]]> A recent study suggests that there’s a link between a good sense of smell and a good sense of direction, with the same brain areas being implicated in both abilities. As someone who has difficulty getting lost who also has a precise sense of smell, I resemble this study, which was published at Nature Communications. [Boing Boing]

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