Day 40 of 150 Spatial Difficulty 9/10
Border cells fire along environmental edges
Quick answer
Border cells fire along environmental edges. Today's question (Border cells) asks about a finding from Solstad, T., Boccara, C. N., Kropff, E., Moser, M.-B., & Moser, E. I. in 2008. The correct option is Border cells (boundary-vector cells) — full explanation, primary source, and glossary cross-links below.
Today's question
Solstad et al. (2008) reported a class of cells in entorhinal cortex that fire when an animal is near the boundary of an environment, regardless of its absolute location. These are called:
Reveal the answer and explanation
Correct: C — Border cells (boundary-vector cells)
Solstad, Boccara, Kropff, Moser & Moser (2008) recorded medial entorhinal cells that fired along walls or other extended environmental edges. The cells are stable across box geometries and signal the geometric structure of the surroundings rather than specific locations. Together with place cells (CA1/CA3), grid cells (medial entorhinal), and head-direction cells (presubiculum), border cells form the modular spatial-coding system that underwrites cognitive-map theory and earned the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for John O'Keefe and the Mosers.
About the source
Solstad, T., Boccara, C. N., Kropff, E., Moser, M.-B., & Moser, E. I. (2008). Representation of geometric borders in the entorhinal cortex. Science, 322(5909), 1865–1868.
Every Cognition Bible question cites a primary source — a paper, book chapter, or monograph that exists, that we can point to on Google Scholar, and whose finding the question accurately summarizes. No fabricated authority strings, no name-drops without paper-level grounding.
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