Based on the neuro-functional association between navigation and memory at the level of the hippocampal-entorhinal system, Buzsaki and Moser have hypothesized a phylogenetic continuity between spatial navigation and declarative memory functions. According to their proposal, the mechanisms of episodic and semantic memory would have evolved from mechanisms of self-based (egocentric) and map-based (allocentric) navigation, respectively.

I will present a series of studies in which we explored the behavioral significance of this neurophysiological model by investigating the relationship between the performance of healthy young volunteers on spatial navigation and declarative memory tasks, as well as by training spatial navigation and observe the effects on memory.

Our data sustain the view that higher-level mechanisms for navigating the mental space may have inherited a fundamental distinction between coordinate/reference systems originally acquired within the physical space, thus paving the way for future clinical applications.