A neural code for egocentric spatial maps in the human medial temporal lobe

Spatial navigation relies on neural systems that encode spatial information relative to the external world or relative to the navigating organism. Ever since the proposal of cognitive maps, the neuroscience of spatial navigation has focused on allocentric (world-referenced) representations such as place cells. Here, using single-neuron recordings during virtual navigation, we reveal a neural code for egocentric (self-centered) spatial information in humans: ""anchor cells"" represent egocentric directions towards proximal ""anchor points"" located in the environmental center or periphery. Anchor cells were abundant in parahippocampal cortex, supported full vectorial representations of egocentric space, and were integrated into a neural memory network. Anchor cells may thus facilitate egocentric navigation strategies, assist in transforming percepts into allocentric spatial representations, and may underlie the first-person perspective in episodic memories.