Jakarta, ThedailyID — Some people can find their way through unfamiliar places with ease. Others can get lost even on familiar routes.
The difference may have less to do with intelligence than with how the brain processes spatial information.
How the Brain Finds Its Way
According to a TED-Ed video by Oliver Baumann, the brain has a built-in navigation system. It helps us identify directions, read maps and learn routes.
Two major brain regions play important roles in this system: the striatum and the hippocampus.
The striatum responds to sensory information, including nearby landmarks. With repetition, it connects specific cues with actions and outcomes.
This process creates navigation habits. For example, you may automatically take the same turns when traveling home.
The hippocampus works differently. It builds dynamic mental maps of the surrounding environment.
As a result, it can help you find a destination even when you have never taken the route before.
The Brain Cells That Create Mental Maps
Researchers discovered the importance of the hippocampus during studies of rats in the 1970s. They found that specific neurons became active when the animals occupied particular locations.
Scientists later called these neurons “place cells.” Interestingly, the cells remained active even when the rats were in complete darkness.
In 2005, researchers identified another type of navigation neuron called “grid cells.” These cells activate in regular patterns as an animal moves through an environment.
Together, place cells and grid cells help create an internal coordinate system. These discoveries contributed to the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Why Some People Navigate Better
However, having a navigation system does not mean everyone uses it equally well.
Without strong external cues, people can make small directional errors. Those mistakes can gradually send them off course.
Genetics may also influence navigation skills. Twin studies suggest that genetic factors account for around 60% of the variation in navigation ability.
Interestingly, researchers have found that navigation skills appear to be separate from general intelligence. Being good at navigating, therefore, does not necessarily mean someone has higher overall intelligence.
Navigation Skills Can Be Trained
The good news is that navigation skills can improve through practice.
People who grow up in cities, especially those with uniform grid-like streets, may struggle more with less organized environments.
Meanwhile, people who train their spatial skills across larger areas can develop stronger navigation abilities.
A 2010 study compared rugby players with martial artists. Both groups navigated while blindfolded.
The rugby players showed greater directional accuracy. Researchers suggested that their experience moving across larger spaces could have strengthened their ability to judge long distances.
London taxi drivers offer another example. They must learn extensive routes and landmarks across the city’s complex street network.
Those who successfully complete the training have been observed to develop significant changes in the hippocampus.
Could GPS Make Us Worse at Navigation?
Modern technology has made navigation much easier. However, it may also reduce how actively we use our own spatial skills.
GPS can reliably guide people to their destinations. Yet research suggests that people may form weaker mental maps when they rely on GPS rather than verbal directions or paper maps.
Constant GPS use may reduce the need to process environmental cues. Over time, this could affect how strongly we engage the brain’s navigation system.
Therefore, try putting your GPS away on familiar routes when possible. Pay attention to landmarks and direction instead.
Using a paper map can also encourage more active spatial thinking. Exploring unfamiliar places on foot may help as well because physical movement contributes to how the brain encodes spatial information.
With practice, getting lost may become less frustrating. More importantly, you may be able to strengthen the navigation system already working inside your brain.
Source: TED-Ed, Why do some people have a better sense of direction than others? by Oliver Baumann
