The neuropsychological correlates of urban navigation: A meta-analysis of 27 years of functional neuroimaging studies

Navigation in urban environments requires high-order cognitive processes and flexible spatial strategies to handle their structural complexity and rich sensory inputs. Despite extensive psychobiological research, the precise large-scale neural substrates supporting spatial navigation in urban environments remain only partially understood, also due to methodological variability across studies. Advances in functional neuroimaging have enabled the detailed mapping of brain activity during navigation, highlighting the role of the hippocampal- entorhinal system. However, additional cortical and subcortical areas are implicated, reflecting the multifaceted nature of urban wayfinding involving route- and survey-based strategies. This meta-analysis synthesises 27 years of task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography research by analysing 26 experimental contrasts with 296 healthy adults performing urban navigation tasks. Using the Signed Differential Mapping-Permutation of Subject Images method, we identified a consistent neural network encompassing bilateral median cingulate cortex, supplementary motor areas, parahippocampal gyri, hippocampi, retrosplenial cortex, precuneus, prefrontal regions, cerebellar lobule VI, and striatum. Sub-analyses revealed both common and distinct activations for route- and survey-based navigation strategies. In addition to common engagement of the parahippocampal place area and retrosplenial cortex, route-based strategies recruited the right inferior frontal gyrus, whereas survey-based strategies showed activations in the thalamus and insula. No significant influence of sex, age, or sample size was found. These findings advance understanding of how the brain supports navigation in complex urban settings and highlight possible targets for future research into spatial deficits and the development of navigational aids.