Comparative studies of spatial cognition

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An ability to find important places is important for the survival of most organisms. Comparative studies that investigate how organisms find and navigate to places such as home or sources of food have revealed a rich set of mechanisms, some of which are general across species and some of which are more specialized. My research program investigates how organisms ranging from desert ants to humans use visual cues to find places. My students and I have advanced knowledge about various aspects of place finding, such as how birds and humans use metric information from landmarks to find a goal, how birds, fish and rodents use visual cues and environmental shape to orient, and how ants use visual cues in navigation. We have also furthered knowledge of related processes, such as object recognition and memory. In the proposed research, we will continue to investigate spatial cognition and related processes in ants, birds and humans using tasks conducted in the laboratory and in the field. We will examine how preference for visual cues may change depending on the functional role they play in place finding. For example, visual cues may serve as orienting cues to determining heading, beacons to head towards, landmarks for piloting to a goal, or context cues for retrieval of other spatial information. We will attempt to elucidate how visual cues serve these various functions and how the hierarchy of cue use may change depending on the role the visual cues serve. Other experiments will investigate related processes, including the identification and recognition of objects, the influence of motion on object perception, and the strategies used when hiding objects. Our investigations will further knowledge of fundamental cognitive abilities that are crucial to the survival of many organisms. Identifying commonalities and differences among species is important for understanding how evolutionary and ecological pressures shape or constrain the emergence of cognitive processes, and it provides critical groundwork for neuroscientists who use animal models to investigate the neural bases of behaviour and cognition. Our research may also benefit computer scientists in the quest to create artificial agents that can navigate and interact with the world.