Kate Jeffery is the head of the school of psychology & neuroscience at the University of Glasgow (formerly at UCL). This episode is all about grid cells (background info), which Kate was already recording in the 1990s. We discuss how grid cells' rate maps differ when the rats climb in 3D spaces. Here we cover anything from cross-species comparisons (bats, birds), to self-organizing dynamics, and symmetry breaking. Kate also shares her (maybe unpopular) thoughts that the hexagonal grid regularity is not functional but a by-product. We also get physics-y by discussing entropy, evolution, complexity and how they link to memory and the arrow of time. At the end there is career advice and some thoughts on climate change.
For Apple Podcast users, find books/papers links at: https://akseliilmanen.wixsite.com/home/post/pod06
Not familiar with place, grid or head direction cells? Here is my 5min primer.
Timestamps:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:14) - Missing out on a Nobel Prize
(00:11:05) - Place cells & grid cells interactions
(00:15:19) - Grid cells and rats climbing in 3D
(00:27:24) - (Spatial) ecological niches of rats, bats and birds
(00:32:55) - Self-organizing dynamics
(00:35:36) - 'Speed' in navigating physical vs abstract spaces
(00:40:19) - 3D = 2D planes stitched together?
(00:46:22) - Symmetry breaking in
(00:50:20) - 'A purey geometric module' (Cheng, 1986)
(01:01:24) - Why are grid cells grid-like?
(01:05:22) - Kate's (grid cell) secrets
(01:08:18) - Entropy, evolution, and complexity
(01:17:45) - Memory as metastable states
(01:22:07) - Entropy, memory & the arrow of time
(01:25:03) - Career Advice
(01:28:35) - Climate change & sociology
(01:38:07) - New position in Glasgow