How the brain creates personal and world-centered maps to aid memory and navigation in people with Alzheimer’s disease
Official title: CRCNS: Neural circuits for egocentric and allocentric cognitive maps in humans
Funded at University of Chicago · NIH-11545182 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This NIH grant explores how the human brain builds egocentric (self-based) and allocentric (world-based) cognitive maps, using people with epilepsy for neural recordings to understand spatial memory related to Alzheimer’s disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $170,745 |
| NIH project number | 7R01MH139348-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11545182 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with epilepsy undergoing clinical monitoring who can participate in virtual-reality navigation tasks and neural recording sessions.
✕Less likely to help
People without epilepsy or who cannot participate in neural recording sessions may not directly benefit from this study.
What this research studies
Researchers will combine computer models with recordings from epilepsy patients performing a virtual-reality navigation task to identify brain cells that encode space relative to the self and to the external world. They will test predictions from computational models and look for neurons that respond to boundaries, objects, and reference points in an egocentric frame, as well as neurons that code locations in an allocentric frame. The study aims to connect these neural signals with memory and navigation problems seen in Alzheimer’s disease, potentially informing future therapies and interventions. The work uses human participants and focuses on understanding neural circuits that support spatial orientation and memory. Continuously, the team will refine their models based on empirical neural data to better map how cognitive maps arise in the human brain.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Findings could illuminate new targets for interventions to support memory and navigation in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has mapped human spatial cells, and this study extends that to egocentric and allocentric maps with computational modeling in humans.
Where this research is happening
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University of Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jacobs, Joshua — University of Chicago
- Study coordinator: Jacobs, Joshua
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.