Ariadne’s thread and the unravelling of navigational skills development

Since pre-historic times, humans have needed to move through the environment. Being able to find one’s way back after hunting, to memorize water or food sources, or to localize safe shelter make the difference in terms of survival, and maintaining a sense of direction (SOD) and location during navigation is a fundamental cognitive function. Spatial navigation is a complex cognitive process that requires the ability to retain the spatial layout of an environment, to memorize and recognize comp..