Paul is a behavioral neuroscientist interested in the brain areas necessary for memory and spatial cognition. His book, Why People Get Lost, provides an overview of what is known about how people and animals navigate, and what brain regions are critical for this ability. Paul studied at The Ohio State University, and worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Dartmouth College (on head direction cells) and Boston University (on place cells). He is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
Ph.D. opportunities: I am happy to supervise Ph.D. studies in the neuroscience of spatial cognition.
Paul's research focusses on how the brain underlies memory and spatial navigation. Paul co-leads the Memory and Space Laboratory at the Centre for Cognitive and Neural System, at the University of Edinburgh.
D.G. Marquis Behavioral Neuroscience Award 2020
https://www.apadivisions.org/division-6/awards/marquis
"This award is given each year to recognize the best paper published in Behavioral Neuroscience. Your article "Lesions of the head direction cell system impair direction discrimination" was selected as this year's winner by the editor and consulting editors. "
(The award is to be given at the 2020 American Psychological Association meeting.)
Dementia Design and Neuroscience Workshop organiser
University of Stirling
https://www.stir.ac.uk/…cience-workshop/
I organised a workshop that brought together basic neuroscientists and those working to improve designs for individuals with dementia.
The goal was to bridge the divide between basic neuroscience studies on how the brain represents space with applied research and work focussing on the challenges physical spaces present to those with dementia. The outcome was a cross-fostering of insights based on both basic and applied approaches to the use of space.
Internation Navigation Symposium invited speaker
https://inavsymposium.com/inav-2016/
Invited talk: Place cell repetition, spatial learning and the head direction cell systme
John Damien Lecture host - Nobel Prize Winner John O'Keefe
University of Stirling
https://www.stir.ac.uk/…en-lecture-2017/
I invited John O'Keefe, the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine winner to the University of Stirling to deliver the annual John Damien Public Lecture. I hosted his visit, introduced him, and hosted his dinner with staff afterwards.
Royal Institute of Navigation International Conference Keynote Address
https://rin.org.uk/mpage/INC2019_Programme
Keynote address: Why people get lost: the limits of the brain's map and compass
UK-Korea Neuroscience Symposium - invited speaker
https://cpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/…14-Programme.pdf
Invited talk: Why we get lost: the limitation of the brain's representation of location and direction
Follow-On: The cortical head direction system as a model for systems-level alterations in three rat models of Autism Spectrum Disorder/Intellectual Disability
PI: Professor Paul Dudchenko
Funded by: Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI)
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Spatial orientation and the brain: identifying the link between neural representations of direction and location
PI: Professor Paul Dudchenko
Funded by: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
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Article
Inns T, Pina I, Macgregor L, Dudchenko P, Crockett R & Hunter A (2025) Age-related gait adaptations: analysis of temporal gait parameters and variability, and muscle activation across flat vs. uneven surfaces in young, middle-aged, and older adults. Frontiers in Aging, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fragi.2025.1573778
Data Article / Data Paper
Age-dependent alterations in the head-direction signal in a rat model of Fragile X Syndrome
Moore N, Duszkiewicz AJ, Asiminas A, Dudchenko PA, Peyrache A & Wood ER Age-dependent alterations in the head-direction signal in a rat model of Fragile X Syndrome.
Article
Identification of the visual landmark pathway in the mammalian brain
Dudchenko PA (2024) Identification of the visual landmark pathway in the mammalian brain. The Journal of Physiology, 602 (20), pp. 5133-5134. https://doi.org/10.1113/jp287506
Article
Allison EAMA, Moore JW, Arkell D, Thomas J, Dudchenko PA & Wood ER (2023) The medial entorhinal cortex is necessary for the stimulus control over hippocampal place fields by distal, but not proximal, landmarks. Hippocampus, 33 (7), pp. 811-829. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.23506
Article
Smith AE, Wood ER & Dudchenko PA (2021) The stimulus control of local enclosures and barriers over head direction and place cell spatial firing. Brain and Behavior, 11 (5), Art. No.: e02070. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2070
Commentary
Navigating space in the mammalian brain
Wood E & Dudchenko P (2021) Navigating space in the mammalian brain. Science, 372 (6545), pp. 913-914. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abi9663
Article
Pina I, Mendham AE, Tomaz SA, Goedecke JH, Micklesfield LK, Brooks NE, Gallagher IJ, Crockett R, Dudchenko P & Hunter AM (2021) Intensity Matters for Musculoskeletal Health: A Cross-Sectional Study on Movement Behaviors of Older Adults from High-Income Scottish and Low-Income South African Communities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (8), Art. No.: 4310. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084310
Presentation / Talk
Dudchenko P, Hunter A, Tomaz S, Crockett R, Mendham A, Goedecke J, Pina I & Pina I (2020) Intensity matters: movement behaviours of older adults from high-income Scottish and low-income South African communities.., 15.10.2020.
Article
Mobile EEG identifies the re-allocation of attention during real-world activity
Ladouce S, Donaldson DI, Dudchenko PA & Ietswaart M (2019) Mobile EEG identifies the re-allocation of attention during real-world activity. Scientific Reports, 9 (1), Art. No.: 15851. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51996-y
Article
Lesions of the Head Direction Cell System Impair Direction Discrimination
Smith AE, Cheek OA, Sweet ELC, Dudchenko PA & Wood ER (2019) Lesions of the Head Direction Cell System Impair Direction Discrimination. Behavioral Neuroscience, 133 (6), pp. 602-613. https://doi.org/10.1037/bne0000341
Article
A new perspective on the head direction cell system and spatial behavior
Dudchenko PA, Wood ER & Smith A (2019) A new perspective on the head direction cell system and spatial behavior. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 105, pp. 24-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.06.036
Presentation / Talk
Changes in Everyday Walking and Subjective Memory Rating with Ageing
Macgregor L, Dudchenko P, Crockett R, Pina I & Hunter A (2019) Changes in Everyday Walking and Subjective Memory Rating with Ageing., 15.04.2019.
Article
A boundary vector cell model of place field repetition
Grieves R, Duvelle E & Dudchenko P (2018) A boundary vector cell model of place field repetition. Spatial Cognition and Computation, 18 (3), pp. 217-256. https://doi.org/10.1080/13875868.2018.1437621
Article
Park JL, Dudchenko PA & Donaldson DI (2018) Navigation in Real-World Environments: New Opportunities Afforded by Advances in Mobile Brain Imaging. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, Art. No.: 361. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00361
Article
Neuroethology of spatial cognition
Dudchenko P & Wallace D (2018) Neuroethology of spatial cognition. Current Biology, 28 (17), pp. R988-R992. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.051
Article
Field repetition and local mapping in the hippocampus and medial entorhinal cortex
Grieves R, Duvelle E, Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2017) Field repetition and local mapping in the hippocampus and medial entorhinal cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology, 118 (4), pp. 2378-2388. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00933.2016
Article
Lesions of the head direction cell system increase hippocampal place field repetition
Harland B, Grieves R, Bett D, Stentiford R, Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2017) Lesions of the head direction cell system increase hippocampal place field repetition. Current Biology, 27 (11), pp. 2706-2712.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.07.071
Article
Understanding Minds in Real-World Environments: Toward a Mobile Cognition Approach
Ladouce S, Donaldson D, Dudchenko P & Ietswaart M (2017) Understanding Minds in Real-World Environments: Toward a Mobile Cognition Approach. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, Art. No.: 694. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00694
Article
Place cells on a maze encode routes rather than destinations
Grieves RM, Wood ER & Dudchenko PA (2016) Place cells on a maze encode routes rather than destinations. eLife, 5, Art. No.: e15986. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.15986
Article
Place field repetition and spatial learning in a multicompartment environment
Grieves R, Jenkins BW, Harland B, Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2016) Place field repetition and spatial learning in a multicompartment environment. Hippocampus, 26 (1), pp. 118-134. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.22496
Article
Harland B, Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2015) The Head Direction Cell System and Behavior: The Effects of Lesions to the Lateral Mammillary Bodies on Spatial Memory in a Novel Landmark Task and in the Water Maze. Behavioral Neuroscience, 129 (6), pp. 709-719. https://doi.org/10.1037/bne0000106
Article
Place fields and the cognitive map
Dudchenko P & Wood ER (2015) Place fields and the cognitive map. Hippocampus, 25 (6), pp. 709-712. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.22450
Article
Hippocampus, delay discounting, and vicarious trial-and-error
Bett D, Murdoch LH, Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2015) Hippocampus, delay discounting, and vicarious trial-and-error. Hippocampus, 25 (5), pp. 643-654. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.22400
Article
Spatial cognition: A Tabula rasa for the sense of direction
Dudchenko P (2015) Spatial cognition: A Tabula rasa for the sense of direction. Current Biology, 25 (4), pp. R143-R144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.12.054
Book Chapter
Dudchenko P & Wood E (2014) Splitter cells: hippocampal place cells whose firing is modulated by where the animal is going or where it has been. In: Knierim JJ & Derdikman D (eds.) Space, Time and Memory in the Hippocampal Formation. Vienna: Springer-Verlag, pp. 253-272. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1292-2
Article
Spatial memory - a unique window into healthy and pathological aging
Wolbers T, Dudchenko PA & Wood ER (2014) Spatial memory - a unique window into healthy and pathological aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 6, Art. No.: 35. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00035
Article
Dudchenko P, Talpos J, Young J & Baxter MG (2013) Animal models of working memory: a review of tasks that might be used in screening drug treatments for the memory impairments found in schizophrenia. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 37 (9, Part B), pp. 2111-2124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.03.003
Commentary
Think local, act global: How do fragmented representations of space allow seamless navigation?
Dudchenko PA, Wood ER & Grieves RM (2013) Think local, act global: How do fragmented representations of space allow seamless navigation?. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36 (5), pp. 548-549. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x13000368
Article
Shires KL, Hawthorne JP, Hope AMJ, Dudchenko P, Wood ER & Martin SJ (2013) Functional connectivity between the thalamus and postsubiculum: Analysis of evoked responses elicited by stimulation of the laterodorsal thalamic nucleus in anesthetized rats. Hippocampus, 23 (7), pp. 559-569. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.22114
Article
Dudchenko P & Grieves R (2013) Cognitive maps and spatial inference in animals: Rats fail to take a novel shortcut, but can take a previously experienced one. Learning and Motivation, 44 (2), pp. 81-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2012.08.001
Article
Bett D, Stevenson CH, Shires KL, Smith MT, Martin SJ, Dudchenko P & Wood ER (2013) The Postsubiculum and Spatial Learning: The Role of Postsubicular Synaptic Activity and Synaptic Plasticity in Hippocampal Place Cell, Object, and Object-Location Memory. Journal of Neuroscience, 33 (16), pp. 6928-6943. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5476-12.2013
Conference Paper (published)
Dudchenko P, Bett D, Allison E, Kaefer K & Wood ER (2013) An animal model of decision making: vicarious trial-and-error in tasks requiring memory for visual associations or spatial locations. In: Yamaguchi Y (ed.) Advances in Cognitive Neurodynamics (III): Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics - 2011. ICCN2011: The 3rd International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics, Hokkaido, Japan, 09.06.2011-13.06.2011. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 429-435. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-4792-0_58#; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4792-0_58
Article
Bett D, Allison E, Murdoch LH, Kaefer K, Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2012) The neural substrates of deliberative decision making: contrasting effects of hippocampus lesions on performance and vicarious trial-and-error behavior in a spatial memory task and a visual discrimination task. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 6, Art. No.: 70. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2012.00070
Article
The Postsubiculum Is Necessary for Spatial Alternation but Not for Homing by Path Integration
Bett D, Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2012) The Postsubiculum Is Necessary for Spatial Alternation but Not for Homing by Path Integration. Behavioral Neuroscience, 126 (2), pp. 237-248. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027163
Article
Ainge JA, Tamosiunaite M, Worgotter F & Dudchenko P (2012) Hippocampal place cells encode intended destination, and not a discriminative stimulus, in a conditional T-maze task. Hippocampus, 22 (3), pp. 534-543. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.20919
Other
Dudchenko P (2010) Memory and a sense of direction. Invited on-line commentary on European Journal of Neuroscience special issue: Memory-and-a-Sense-of-Direction. [Blog Post] 2010.
Authored Book
Why people get lost: The psychology and neuroscience of spatial cognition
Dudchenko P (2010) Why people get lost: The psychology and neuroscience of spatial cognition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Psychology/CognitivePsychology/CognitivePsychology/?view=usa&ci=9780199210862
Article
Evidence for the use of an internal sense of direction in homing
van der Meer MAA, Richmond Z, Braga RM, Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2010) Evidence for the use of an internal sense of direction in homing. Behavioral Neuroscience, 124 (1), pp. 164-169. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018446
Article
Odor supported place cell model and goal navigation in rodents
Kulvicius T, Tamosiunaite M, Ainge JA, Dudchenko P & Worgotter F (2008) Odor supported place cell model and goal navigation in rodents. Journal of Computational Neuroscience, 25 (3), pp. 481-500. http://www.springerlink.com/content/0929-5313/; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10827-008-0090-x
Article
Tamosiunaite M, Ainge JA, Kulvicius T, Porr B, Dudchenko P & Worgotter F (2008) Path-finding in real and simulated rats: assessing the influence of path characteristics on navigation learning. Journal of Computational Neuroscience, 25 (3), pp. 562-582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10827-008-0094-6
Book Chapter
Context-dependent firing of hippocampal place cells: does it underlie memory?
Ainge JA, Dudchenko P & Wood ER (2008) Context-dependent firing of hippocampal place cells: does it underlie memory?. In: Mizumori S (ed.) Hippocampal Place Fields. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 44-58. http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323245.001.0001/acprof-9780195323245-chapter-3
Article
Does shape matter? Theoretical comment on Jones, Pearce, Davies, Good, and McGregor (2007)
Dudchenko P (2007) Does shape matter? Theoretical comment on Jones, Pearce, Davies, Good, and McGregor (2007). Behavioral Neuroscience, 121 (6), pp. 1442-1446. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.121.6.1442
Article
Hippocampal CA1 place cells encode intended destination on a maze with multiple choice points
Ainge JA, Tamosiunaite M, Worgotter F & Dudchenko P (2007) Hippocampal CA1 place cells encode intended destination on a maze with multiple choice points. Journal of Neuroscience, 27 (36), pp. 9769-9779. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2011-07.2007
Working Paper
Zinyuk LE & Dudchenko P (2005) Does a landmark near a head direction neuron's preferred firing direction exert more stimulus control than one farther away?. http://www.psychology.stir.ac.uk/staff/staff-profiles/?a=27307
Article
Navigation without landmarks: Can rats use a sense of direction to return to a home site?
Dudchenko P & Bruce C (2005) Navigation without landmarks: Can rats use a sense of direction to return to a home site?. Connection Science, 17 (1-2), pp. 107-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540090500138127
Article
Dudchenko P & Zinyuk LE (2005) The formation of cognitive maps of adjacent environments: Evidence from the head direction cell system. Behavioral Neuroscience, 119 (6), pp. 1511-1523. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.119.6.1511
Book Chapter
What does the head direction cell system actually do?
Dudchenko P, Muir GM, Frohardt RJ & Taube JS (2005) What does the head direction cell system actually do?. In: Wiener S & Taube J (eds.) Head Direction Cells and the Neural Mechanisms of Spatial Orientation. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, pp. 221-245. http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/head-direction-cells-and-neural-mechanisms-spatial-orientation
Article
An overview of the tasks used to test working memory in rodents
Dudchenko P (2004) An overview of the tasks used to test working memory in rodents. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 28 (7), pp. 699-709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.09.002
Book Chapter
The head direction system and navigation
Dudchenko P (2003) The head direction system and navigation. In: Jeffery K (ed.) The Neurobiology of Spatial Behaviour. Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-neurobiology-of-spatial-behaviour-9780198515241;jsessionid=A9CB0FA51C9603AD98C463877C39D31E?cc=gb〈=en&
Article
Hippocampal Place Cell Instability after Lesions of the Head Direction Cell Network
Calton JL, Stackman RW, Goodridge JP, Archey WB, Dudchenko P & Taube JS (2003) Hippocampal Place Cell Instability after Lesions of the Head Direction Cell Network. Journal of Neuroscience, 23 (30), pp. 9719-9731. http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/30/9719.abstract
Article
Aging, spatial behavior and the cognitive map
Wood ER & Dudchenko P (2003) Aging, spatial behavior and the cognitive map. Nature Neuroscience, 6 (6), pp. 546-548. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0603-546
Book Chapter
Non-Spatial Correlates of Hippocampal Activity
Dudchenko PA, Wood ER & Eichenbaum H (2002) Non-Spatial Correlates of Hippocampal Activity. In: The Neural Basis of Navigation. Boston, MA: Springer US, pp. 81-96. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0887-8_5
Article
Rats use a sense of direction to alternate on T-mazes located in adjacent rooms
Dudchenko P & Davidson M (2002) Rats use a sense of direction to alternate on T-mazes located in adjacent rooms. Animal Cognition, 5 (2), pp. 115-118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-002-0134-y
Book Chapter
Cellular correlates of behavior
Wood ER, Dudchenko P & Eichenbaum H (2001) Cellular correlates of behavior. In: Engel J, Schwartzkroin P, Moshe S & Lowenstein D (eds.) Brain Plasticity and Epilepsy: A Tribute to Frank Morrell. International Review of Neurobiology, 45. London, UK: Academic Press, pp. 293-312. http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/675324/description#description; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0074-7742%2801%2945016-1
Article
How do animals actually solve the T maze?
Dudchenko P (2001) How do animals actually solve the T maze?. Behavioral Neuroscience, 115 (4), pp. 850-860. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.115.4.850
Conference Abstract
Dudchenko P, Wood ER & Eichenbaum H (2000) Hippocampal place cells distinguish between journeys on a T-maze and possess task correlates in an odor discrimination task. Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Millennium Meeting, Brighton, 24/06/2000 - 28/06/2000. European Journal of Neuroscience, 12 (Supplement), pp. 162-162.
Article
Wood ER, Dudchenko P, Robitsek RJ & Eichenbaum H (2000) Hippocampal neurons encode information about different types of memory episodes occurring in the same location. Neuron, 27 (3), pp. 623-633. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0896-6273%2800%2900071-4
Article
Dudchenko P, Wood ER & Eichenbaum H (2000) Neurotoxic Hippocampal Lesions Have No Effect on Odor Span and Little Effect on Odor Recognition Memory But Produce Significant Impairments on Spatial Span, Recognition, and Alternation. Journal of Neuroscience, 20 (8), pp. 2964-2977. http://www.jneurosci.org/content/20/8/2964.abstract
Article
The global record of memory in hippocampal neuronal activity
Wood ER, Dudchenko P & Eichenbaum H (1999) The global record of memory in hippocampal neuronal activity. Nature, 397 (6720), pp. 613-616. https://doi.org/10.1038/17605
