This opinion article examines whether cognitive maps—traditionally linked to spatial navigation—serve as a broader vehicle for thought, and how they relate to the 'language of thought' hypothesis, drawing on philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.
The authors argue that map-like representations offer a distinct, compositional medium for encoding information in both spatial and nonspatial domains, and that neural mechanisms (replay, theta sequences, vector computation) translate map-based representations into sequential formats that interface with cortical systems supporting propositional thinking.
As an opinion article, claims are theoretical and not empirically tested here; the framework relies on integrating heterogeneous literatures without new primary data, and the proposed neural mechanisms remain speculative bridges between spatial and abstract cognition.
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