Cognitive load refers to the amount of mental resources required to process information in a given task or environment. Within the built environment, complex, disorganized, or sensory-overstimulating spaces can increase cognitive load, making orientation, decision-making, and user experience more difficult.

Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285.

Spatial cognition is the ability to perceive, process, remember, and navigate space. This process involves the construction of mental maps and the understanding of spatial relationships, and is fundamental for orientation and interaction within the urban environment. Its study enables the design of more legible, accessible, and comprehensible cities.

Golledge, R. G. (1999). Wayfinding behavior: Cognitive mapping and other spatial processes. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

The connectome refers to the complete map of structural connections between neurons in the nervous system. This concept describes the organization of neural networks that enable communication and information processing in the brain. The study of the connectome seeks to understand how the architecture of these networks influences cognition, behavior, and human experience, providing a framework for analyzing the brain as a complex system of interconnections.

Sporns, O., Tononi, G., & Kötter, R. (2005). The human connectome: A structural description of the human brain. PLoS Computational Biology, 1(4), e42. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.0010042

The urban connectome refers to the network of physical, functional, and relational connections that shape the structure and functioning of the city. This concept emphasizes that urban environments should not be understood as isolated elements, but as complex systems of interactions among mobility networks, public spaces, infrastructures, human activities, and ecological processes. From this perspective, the city can be analyzed as a dynamic network of flows and interdependencies, where urban quality emerges from the density, diversity, and accessibility of these connections, directly influencing human experience and well-being.

Mehaffy, M. W. (2019). Cities Alive: Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander, and the roots of the New Urban Renaissance. Portland, OR: Sustasis Press.

Batty, M. (2013). The new science of cities. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Connectomics is the field of study dedicated to analyzing, mapping, and interpreting the networks of neural connections that constitute the connectome. Through neuroimaging techniques and computational modeling, this discipline seeks to understand how the organization of these networks influences perception, memory, emotion, and behavior. Its contributions have helped explore the relationship between brain, environment, and experience.

Sporns, O. (2011). Networks of the brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Embodiment refers to the process through which the experience of the environment is constructed through the body, integrating perception, movement, emotion, and cognition. This concept recognizes that our relationship with space is not solely visual or rational, but deeply sensory and embodied, shaping how we inhabit and understand urban environments.

Pallasmaa, J. (2012). The eyes of the skin: Architecture and the senses. Chichester: Wiley.