I've never had a great sense of direction. And I often wander into shops and，upon coming back out，can't remember which way I've come from--left or right? Many people are like me，and why do some constantly have no idea where they are?
The hippocampus(海马体)is a region of the brain associated with memory and involved in sense of direction. And a nearby region has also been associated with sense of direction. There are four known types of navigation-related neurons(神经元)found in these regions: place cells，grid cells，border cells and head direction cells.
In short，you can think of place cells as an internal cognitive(认知的)map; they identify where you are. Grid cells are like a GPS system in our brain; they tell us about the relationship of this place to other places we've been to. Border cells respond to the presence of environmental boundaries at a specific direction and distance from us. Lastly，head direction cells are activated when our head faces a specific direction. These cells will fire electrical impulses when we enter familiar locations，with each group of cells relating to a specific place.
Our reliance on GPS and smartphones may have decreased the ability to use our internal maps. Older adults who regularly used GPS had less activity in their hippocampus，compared with those who did not use GPS. They also performed slightly worse in a cognition test. In contrast，a study involving London taxi drivers found they had significantly larger hippocampus than ordinary people.
You can improve your way-finding ability specifically by practicing the skill，according to Aziz，PhD of neurology at Temple University School of Medicine. "The more you get out and go to places，the better, "he says. Physical exercise improves the blood flow to the brain, while mental exercise，such as doing puzzles or learning a new language，stimulates the development of new nerve cells and connections in your brain.