The human brain maps abstract emotions onto a literal hexagonal grid as if they were physical locations on a city street.

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex uses a hexadirectional coordinate system to organize how we feel. These grid-like patterns were previously only found in the parts of the brain responsible for navigating physical environments. Feelings like happiness or sadness are treated as fixed points in a geometric space that the brain can traverse. This discovery proves that our internal world is governed by the same spatial mathematics used for finding our way home. A malfunctioning grid might explain why emotional trauma can make people feel literally lost or disoriented.