Our brains have a built-in GPS! Scientists have found a ‘neural compass’ that prevents us from getting lost

By William On May 6, 2024

For many of us, navigating the world seems like an impossible task without our smartphone.

But a new study suggests that humans are more adept at finding our way from A to B than we might have realized.

Scientists have discovered that we have an ‘internal neural compass’ in our brains that helps us orient ourselves and navigate through an environment.

This compass – which takes the form of an electrical signal emitted by nerve cells – tells us that we are about to take a new direction.

Furthermore, once we have reoriented ourselves, it lets us know that we are following a new path – so for example east instead of north.

A human ‘neural compass’ – that helps keep us from getting lost has been identified in a new study (file photo)

Image shows which parts of the brain transmit signals related to different aspects of a task. The red spot in the bottom center of ‘Head Angle’ (left) shows that parietal brain areas follow the neural compass signal. The other graphs show that this neural compass signal is different from other signals, including movement-related signals (‘Muscular’) and visual sensory signals (‘Vis. Input/Eyes’).

The new study was conducted by researchers from the University of Birmingham and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

‘We would describe the neural compass as a brain signal sent to many different brain areas involved in navigation,’ study author Dr Benjamin J. Griffiths from the University of Birmingham told MailOnline.

‘The brain signal informs these brain areas about what we are dealing with in an environment and this helps update our navigational goals as we move through the environment.

“It tells us we’re running for about 50 to 100 milliseconds before we actually do that.

“And when we turn on a street corner, the brain signal from the neural compass tells the areas of the brain that help us make the turn and allows us to update our direction (for example, by turning onto the new street).”

Without the compass, humans would likely have a “substantial disruption in our ability to navigate.”

“We wouldn’t be completely hopeless, but we would have a very difficult time getting from A to B,” the expert added.

For the study, Dr. Griffiths and colleagues recruited 52 healthy participants for a series of motion detection experiments while their brain activity was recorded.

To do this, they used electroencephalography (EEG) – a method of recording the brain’s electrical activity that involves placing electrodes along the scalp.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method of recording the brain’s electrical activity that involves placing electrodes along the scalp (file photo)

This allowed the researchers to monitor participants’ brain signals as they moved their heads to orient themselves to signals on different computer monitors.

They also monitored signals from ten participants who were already undergoing brain monitoring for conditions such as epilepsy.

All tasks required participants to move their heads, or sometimes just their eyes.

Researchers were able to identify the compass’s finely tuned directional signal, which could be detected just before physical changes in head direction in participants.

‘We find that the compass is ‘always on’, but the signals are usually strongest just before we start moving,’ Dr Griffiths told MailOnline.

‘It is possible that this is a warning to other brain areas that a change of course is coming.’

Before this study, scientists weren’t entirely sure how humans managed to orient themselves and navigate through an environment.

‘Previous research in rodents and birds has found a neural compass like the one we observed,’ added Dr Griffiths.

‘But humans are much more visual than these species (that is, we tend to explore the world more with our eyes than by walking through it).

‘However, our results suggest that we have a similar compass to rodents and birds, but we also compliment this somewhat with our eyes.’

The results have implications for understanding diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, in which navigation and orientation are often disrupted.

In future work, the researchers plan to investigate how the brain navigates through time, to find out whether similar activities are responsible for memory.

The research has been published in the journal Nature Human behavior.

ELECTROENPHALOGRAPHY (EEG) EXPLAINED

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a recording of brain activity originally developed for clinical use.

During the test, small sensors are attached to the scalp to pick up the electrical signals produced when brain cells send messages to each other.

In the medical field, EEGs are typically performed by a highly trained specialist known as a clinical neurophysiologist.

These signals are recorded by a machine and analyzed by a medical professional to determine if they are unusual.

An EEG can be used to help diagnose and monitor a number of conditions that affect the brain.

It can help identify the cause of certain symptoms, such as seizures or memory problems.

More recently, technology companies have used the technique to create interfaces between brains and computers, known as “mind-reading” devices.

This has led to the creation and design of a number of futuristic-sounding gadgets.

These range from a machine that can decipher words from brain waves without actually speaking them, to a headband design that allows computer users to open apps using the power of thought.