Spatial Navigation and Memory Unit

NIH, NINDS and Gu lab logos

Spatial navigation is one of the most fundamental functions of the brain. Our research is focused on the neural basis of spatial navigation and memory, with the ultimate goal to uncover the fundamental principle of spatial cognition and the cause of related neurological disorders.

We are primarily interested in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), which plays a key role in spatial representation and episodic memory and is closely related to Alzheimer’s disease. We use mice as model organisms and study various aspects of the MEC in spatial cognition using optical, behavioral, computational, and molecular approaches.