Multisensory integration in spatial orientation

Recent psychophysical studies on normal subjects, as well as brain imaging studies, have revised the concepts concerning the mechanisms underlying spa tial orientation during navigation tasks. The emphasis has been put on inte rnal models that allow the prediction of a planned trajectory and are essen tial in the steering of locomotion. Cognitive factors such as strategies an d emotional parameters are now starting to be included in the research on s patial orientation. It is obvious that important individual and gender diff erences exist in the brain operations underlying spatial orientation in hum ans, which may help to understand the construction of a coherent perception and the organic neural disorders related to the internal representation of space.