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Hippocampal place cells are thought to form the neural substrate of a global cognitive map. However, in multicompartment mazes these cells exhibit locally repeating representations, undermining the global cognitive map view of place cells. This phenomenon appears to be related to the repetitive layout of these mazes, but still no hypothesis adequately explains it. Here, we use a boundary vector cell model of place cell firing to model the activity of place cells in numerous multicompartment environments. The activity of modelled place cells bears a striking resemblance to experimental data, replicating virtually every major experimental result. Our results support the boundary vector cell model and indicate that locally repeating place cell firing could result purely from local geometry.

Hippocampal place cells support spatial cognition and are thought to form the neural substrate of a global 'cognitive map'. A widely held view is that parts of the hippocampus also underlie the ability to separate patterns, or to provide different neural codes for distinct environments. However, a number of studies have shown that in environments composed of multiple, repeating compartments, place cells and other spatially modulated neurons show the same activity in each local area. This repetition of firing fields may reflect pattern completion, and may make it difficult for animals to distinguish similar local environments. In this review we will (a) highlight some of the navigation difficulties encountered by humans in repetitive environments, (b) summarise literature demonstrating that place and grid cells represent local and not global space, and (c) attempt to explain the origin of these phenomena. We argue that the repetition of firing fields can be a useful tool for understanding of the relationship between grid cells in the entorhinal cortex and place cells in the hippocampus, the spatial inputs shared by these cells, and the propagation of spatially-related signals through these structures.

There is a growing body of evidence that important aspects of human cognition have been marginalized, or overlooked, by traditional cognitive science. In particular, the use of laboratory-based experiments in which stimuli are artificial, and response options are fixed, inevitably results in findings that are less ecologically valid in relation to real-world behavior. In the present review we highlight the opportunities provided by a range of new mobile technologies that allow traditionally lab-bound measurements to now be collected during natural interactions with the world. We begin by outlining the theoretical support that mobile approaches receive from the development of embodied accounts of cognition, and we review the widening evidence that illustrates the importance of examining cognitive processes in their context. As we acknowledge, in practice, the development of mobile approaches brings with it fresh challenges, and will undoubtedly require innovation in paradigm design and analysis. If successful, however, the mobile cognition approach will offer novel insights in a range of areas, including understanding the cognitive processes underlying navigation through space and the role of attention during natural behavior. We argue that the development of real-world mobile cognition offers both increased ecological validity, and the opportunity to examine the interactions between perception, cognition and action—rather than examining each in isolation.