Elizabeth Chrastil, PhD

I am a professor at UCSB, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of human spatial memory.

I study human path integration, spatial memory, and large-scale navigation in complex environments. I have recently worked on projects using virtual reality to understand how humans encode distances and angles used in path integration.  I have also investigated active and passive spatial navigation.  In particular, I examined how proprioceptive input, vestibular information, decision-making, and attention contribute to landmark, route, graph, and survey knowledge. My current research ties in the neural correlates, with particular focus on breaking larger navigation tasks into smaller cognitive processes. I examine the relationships between these processes using fMRI.

For more information, visit my website.