From structure to action. An egocentric perspective on conceptual space and cognitive maps

Tuesday, 9 June 2026, 1pm to 2pm

Abstract

Cognitive maps offer a powerful way to compress experience into low-dimensional structure that supports flexible learning, inference, and generalization across both spatial and conceptual domains. But a map is only useful if it can guide action. In this talk, I will present a unifying account of how hippocampal–entorhinal cognitive maps become action-relevant—not only for spatial navigation, but also for nonspatial declarative knowledge. I will first review evidence that conceptual navigation recruits complementary allocentric and egocentric reference frames. I will then propose that egocentric coding in conceptual spaces can be understood as an attentional “point of view,” implemented as a directional attentional gradient, and show how mental operations can be modeled as movements of attention over relational structure. Finally, I will outline how reference-frame transformations and state-updating mechanisms—well characterized in spatial navigation—can be generalized to conceptual domains, yielding actionable representations that support both overt behavior and internal mental actions.

Speaker(s): Prof Roberto Bottini (University of Trento (Italy))

Series: Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience (BEACON) Seminar Series

Venue: The Life and Mind Building - Seminar room 7 & 8 - Seminar room 7 & 8 The Life and Mind Building South Parks Road Oxford United Kingdom

Department: Experimental Psychology (Department)

Organiser: Dr Ali Mahmoodi, Dr Fei-Yang Huang

Host: Dr Sebastijan Veselic

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