Johns Hopkins neuroscientists believe they have figured out how some mammals' brains—in this case, rats—solve such navigational problems. If there's a "reward" at the end of the trip, like the chocolatey drink used in their study, specialized neurons in the hippocampus of the brain "replay" the route taken to get it, but backward. And the greater the reward, the more often the rats' brains replay it.
According to the researchers, the finding suggests that both the presence and magnitude of rewards influence how and how well the hippocampus forms memories. The hippocampus is a vertebrate brain structure long known to be vital for making and storing memories, and in so-called spatial relations.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-08-brain-instant-replays-important-routes.html
According to the researchers, the finding suggests that both the presence and magnitude of rewards influence how and how well the hippocampus forms memories. The hippocampus is a vertebrate brain structure long known to be vital for making and storing memories, and in so-called spatial relations.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-08-brain-instant-replays-important-routes.html