PLACE CONSTANCIES, THE COGNITIVE MAP AND THE HIPPOCAMPAL REPRESENTATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Place constancies used in the construction and representation of the e xternal environment (the 'cognitive map') by the mammalian hippocampus are examined in this paper. If the hippocampal representation of spac e is used by the animal in the adaptive control of its behaviour, then the hippocampal representation of the external environment must be co nstant - that is, stable while the environment is stable, and capable of change when the environment changes. The electrophysiological evide nce is reviewed to examine this argument, and it appears that a stable representation is generated by the hippocampus, and that this represe ntation is updated as the enviroment changes. The spatial and nonspati al views of hippocampal function are also presented and evaluated.