His research focuses on the neurophysiology of memory in the hippocampal formation. His work has investigated how the zero-gravity environment of NASA's Space Shuttle affects spatial orientation; how the sense of direction (your "internal compass") affects spatial perceptions; and how objects and landmarks become incorporated into the brain's "cognitive map" of an environment in ways that are crucial for the normal formation of long-term memories. Currently, Dr. Knierim is focused on understanding the information processing that occurs in different stages of the hippocampus, from the input representations of the entorhinal cortex through the different subregions within the hippocampus.