A spatial cognition model integrating grid cells and place cells

Grid cells and place cells have shown to play an important role in spatial cognition in rats. While place cells provide global localization from external environment information, grid cells provide a “neural odometry” for path integration from internal vestibular information. In this paper we describe a spatial cognition model integrating grid cells and place cells from behavioral and neurophysiological brain studies in rats. Grid cell firing is generated from a linear oscillatory interference model that includes a reset mechanism to overcome errors in “neural odometry” readings. The model is evaluated in simulation. Future work is discussed including extensions to the model and evaluation under physical robots.