The lab publishes a new paper in Neuropsychologia titled “Graph properties drive navigational selection between equidistant routes.“
This paper will be published in a special issue on “Maps in the Brain: from Definitions to Measurement and Applications“.
Authors: Chi, L.*, Starrett, M. J.*, Rao, Y., & Chrastil, E. R. (2026). (* denotes equal contribution)
Highlights from the publication:
- Navigational route choice between paths of equal length but varying structure.
- First-person navigation in walking virtual environments and top-down map view.
- Both views demonstrate use of heuristics over detailed metric spatial representation.
- Routes with fewer turns were preferred, no preference for length of initial path.
- Demonstrates human navigation does not align with the theory of cognitive maps.
See link to paper under publications tab!