This review of the literature analyzes knowledge of the higher, integrative level of the physiological system by which animals orient themselves in space. Studies of the patterns of operation of the system at this level are relevant as impairments may underlie degradation of the ability to orient in space (spatial agnosia), an important sign of a number of brain diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. Studies over recent decades have identified the main functional components of the system integrating information on an animal’s spatial position. The significance of these findings is reflected in a number of prestigious awards and honors, including the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
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Translated from Rossiiskii Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal imeni I. M. Sechenova, Vol. 102, No. 4, pp. 411–420, April, 2016.
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Mukhin, V.N., Pavlov, K.I. & Klimenko, V.M. The Integrative Level of the Hierarchical Spatial Orientation System in Animals. Neurosci Behav Physi 47, 675–680 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-017-0454-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-017-0454-7