#6 Spatial Neuroscientist Dr Hugo Spiers - The Incredible way our Brain Constructs the World Around Us

Dr Hugo Spiers is a cognitive Neuroscientist from University
College London. He has spent over 25 years studying our spatial
navigation system and memory. He has published over 160 research
papers on whats actually happening in the brain when we are
moving from one place to another, something we all take for
granted but is quite remarkable brain system that we all use
every day.


I learned personal things in this podcast about what my awful
sense of direction means for me, why I should try to improve and
just an incredible amount about the incredible brain systems we
employ to navigate around our world.





00:00 Intro03:44 Introduction to Spatial Navigation and Brain
Structure06:19 The London Taxi Driver Study and Brain
Structure11:13 The Relationship Between Hippocampus Size and
Navigation16:34 The Role of Different Brain Regions in Spatial
Memory19:50 Habits and Autopilot Behavior in Spatial Memory35:19
Genetic Factors and Spatial Navigation39:11 Visualization and
Motor Cortex Interaction43:21 Genetic Components of Spatial
Navigation48:37 The Health Benefits of Challenging Spatial
Navigation Skills54:10 The Future of Neuroscience and Technology





Dr. Hugo Spears discusses the neuroscience of spatial navigation
and the correlation between brain structure and spatial
navigation abilities. While there is still much we don't know,
studies have shown that individuals with larger hippocampi tend
to be better navigators. The famous London taxi driver study
demonstrated that licensed taxi drivers have larger posterior
hippocampi, suggesting that training and experience can impact
brain structure. However, there is still debate about the extent
to which brain structure influences spatial navigation abilities.
Additionally, the brain's spatial memory system involves the
parietal cortex for organizing the structure of the world, the
hippocampus for allocentric processing, and the striatum for
forming habits and autopilot behavior. The conversation explores
the topic of spatial navigation and its neural mechanisms. It
discusses how the brain maps space and the role of the
hippocampus in creating a map of our surroundings. The
conversation also touches on the genetic components of spatial
navigation and the potential health benefits of actively
improving our navigation skills. The conversation concludes with
a discussion on the future of neuroscience and technology,
highlighting the potential dangers of automated drones and the
exciting possibilities of simulating environments for research
and design purposes.