Deep Mapping—A Critical Engagement of Cartography with Neuroscience

This paper discusses the cognitive connotation of deep mapping. It attempts to consider deep mapping as an interdisciplinary research field, a combination of neuroscience and cartography, and a connection between brain mapping and geographic mapping. Recent developments in neuroscience, specifically the discovery of spatial cells such as place cells and grid cells, have provided a neuroscientific foundation for studying deep mapping. This paper proposes a conceptual model of deep mapping to establish the relationship between spatial cell properties and map functions (such as map scale, map measurement, map projection, and navigation), and to elucidate the neural mechanism of maps by analyzing an abundance of neuroscience literature. This study of deep mapping aims to increase understanding of the nature of maps, enrich cartographic theories, encourage the integration of cartography and artificial intelligence, and expand their applications.