The mind can wander and uncouple from the present experience of the body, but how does it snap back into the present? Jordan Farrell shares new research that points towards a brain circuit phenomenon that may explain this shift.

Researchers from the Wilson Lab gain new insights into how two distinct brain regions — the seat of the compass and the steering center — communicate during navigation.

HMS News article on new research from Chris Harvey, Mike Greenberg, and colleagues, first author Jonathan Green. They identified a specific group of neurons in a brain region involved in navigation that undergo bursts of activity when mice running a maze veer off course and correct their error.

Harvard Gazette article on new research from Jeremy Wolfe and colleagues, showing that while people often think their memory is terrible, they can recall where and when an object appeared with good, if not perfect, precision for a large number of objects.

HMS News article on new research from the labs of Christopher Harvey and Michael Greenberg, first author Noah Pettit, and second author Lynn Yap, finding that a gene called Fos is a key player in spatial mapping. It helps the brain use specialized navigation cells to form and maintain stable representations of the environment.