Editorial: Wayfinding and Navigation: Strengths and Weaknesses in Atypical and Clinical Populations.

Navigation is an essential activity of everyday life, related to both work, and leisure. For some populations with certain neurocognitive issues (e.g., those with injuries, genetic syndromes, or other clinical conditions) or characteristics (such as blindness or healthy old age), navigation is fundamental to their autonomy and access to the community. It is a complex activity that entails several stages, from planning a route to reaching a destination (Wiener et al., 2009). The encoding of environmental information in forming a mental representation or cognitive map (Tolman, 1948) and the retrieval and use of that information (Wolbers and Hegarty, 2010) rely on numerous cognitive functions—such as perception, memory, imagination, language, and decision-making—along with social and emotional processes (Dalton et al., 2019). Our spatial memory of an environment is based on two fundamental frames of reference (Burgess, 2006). One is egocentric and involves mentally arranging the positions of objects in relation to ourselves (subject-to-object). The other is allocentric and establishes relations between objects to determine their respective locations (object-to-object). Navigation is recognized as a large-scale ability supported by small-scale spatial abilities, including the ability to mentally rotate objects or adopt different imaginary views (perspective taking), and processing skills such as visuospatial working memory (VSWM) (Hegarty et al., 2006). Motor abilities are also involved in environment learning (e.g., Voyer and Jansen, 2017). External means (such as navigation aids) can also improve our navigation efficiency. This is a core issue, for instance, in studies on the blind (e.g., Gallay et al., 2013). Brain structures provide the basis for our environment representations and there is neuropsychological evidence indicating that representations with allocentric properties are developed and stored in the medial temporal lobe, parahippocampal gyrus, and hippocampus. The posterior parietal lobe is involved in representations with egocentric properties, and the retrosplenial cortex, in switching between egocentric and allocentric properties of representation. Other brain structures play a part in wayfinding, for instance, the prefrontal cortex supports navigation planning activities (e.g., Lithfous and Després, 2013). The brain regions and networks involved in navigation mechanisms are often examined by considering individuals with brain damage or particular characteristics (e.g., hippocampal volume is smaller in Down syndrome than in matched typically-developing individuals).