While the brain works as a dynamic network, with no brain region solely responsible for any particular function, it is generally accepted that the hippocampus plays a major role in memory. Spatial memory operates through the hippocampus with communication with the prefrontal and parietal cortices. This chapter will focus on two separate reference frames involved in spatial memory, egocentric and allocentric, and outline the differences of these reference frames and associated search strategies with relevance to behavioural neuroscience. The importance of dissociating these search strategies is put forward, and steps researchers can take to do so are suggested. Neurophysiological and clinical differences between these spatial reference frames are outlined to further support the view that distinguishing them would be beneficial.
Part of the book: The Hippocampus