Using virtual reality, neurophysicists determine how
environmental stimuli and brain rhythms generate our neuronal maps of the world
Leaving the house in the morning may seem simple, but with
every move we make, our brains are working feverishly to create maps of the
outside world that allow us to navigate and to remember where we are.
Take one step out the front door, and an individual brain
cell fires. Pass by your rose bush on the way to the car, another specific
neuron fires. And so it goes. Ultimately, the brain constructs its own pinpoint
geographical chart that is far more precise than anything you'd find on Google
Maps.