headcentered

Headcentered is an adjective used primarily in neuroscience, psychology, and computer science to describe a reference frame or perceptual focus that is anchored to the head’s position or orientation. The term emphasizes a spatial frame where locations are defined relative to the head rather than to the eyes or the body.

In perceptual neuroscience, head-centered coordinates denote representations of space that remain tied to the head. As the head moves, the same external location can map to different eye-centered or world-centered coordinates, but it retains its head-centered status. This concept helps explain how the brain integrates sensory inputs from vision, audition, and vestibular signals to maintain stable perception during head motion.

In practical applications, head-centered coordinates are used in head-tracking systems, virtual reality displays, and robotics to stabilize perception and control interfaces. Systems often involve transformations among head-centered, eye-centered, and world-centered frames to support tasks such as gaze estimation, navigation, and manipulation.

Terminology varies by domain. The term is sometimes hyphenated as head-centered, and in some programming or engineering contexts it appears as a compound form like headcentered.

See also: eye-centered coordinates, body-centered coordinates, vestibular system, proprioception, coordinate transformations.