Evidence for allocentric boundary and goal direction information in the human entorhinal cortex and subiculum

In rodents, cells in the medial entorhinal cortex (EC) and subiculum code for the allocentric direction to environment boundaries, which is an important prerequisite for accurate positional coding. Although in humans boundary-related signals have been reported, there is no evidence that they contain allocentric direction information. Furthermore, it has not been possible to separate boundary versus goal direction signals in the EC/subiculum. To address these important questions, participants learned a virtual environment containing four unique boundaries, after which they underwent fMRI scanning where they made judgments about the allocentric direction of a cue object. Using multivariate decoding, we found information regarding allocentric boundary direction in posterior EC and subiculum, whereas in anterior EC and subiculum we could decode allocentric goal direction. These data provide the first evidence of allocentric boundary coding in humans, and are consistent with recent conceptualisations of a division of labour within the EC.