Exploring human spatial orientation and navigation with electroencephalography: a scoping review

This scoping review explores and describes how electroencephalography (EEG) has been used to study higher-order spatial orientation and navigation in healthy adults. 22 studies were included, where key findings highlighted the presence of theta (especially frontal-midline) during spatial memory encoding and alpha desynchronization during complex wayfinding. Event-related potentials revealed rapid changes in neural processing tied to path decisions, reward feedback, and navigation errors. Source localization findings suggest regions such as the retrosplenial complex and posterior parietal cortex are involved in egocentric and allocentric strategies. These results reinforce the value of EEG in capturing unique neural activity underlying spatial navigation.