UO geographer and department head Amy Lobben wants to get inside people’s heads to find better ways to make maps.

That’s why she’s one of the few researchers in her field looking to neuroscience for clues on how people perceive and process information from maps. He work recently caught the attention of CityLab, an online publication of The Atlantic magazine.

An article for CityLab, which appeared Nov. 24, includes interviews with three cartographers discussing how visual cues can help them design better maps. Lobben is the only one who is looking deeper into the brain for new ways to display cartographic information, with an eye toward perhaps someday tailoring maps to each person’s particular way of processing visual information.

"People don't always know what helps them best," she told the magazine. With her testing and research, "You could potentially design a map that works with individuals' innate abilities, one that could switch to a view that person best understands."

Read the full story at How to Make a Better Map—Using Neuroscience.