A simplified version of this article can be found here:

This is your brain on GPS navigation www.technologyreview.com Parts of the brain that are used to navigate and plan routes aren’t active when directions are fed to us.

The conclusion drew my attention to Kevin Lynch's mental maps where the human brain draws simple maps created from memory while navigating freely, providing several options to reach one place via different routes which is by far smarter than complete reliance on GPS, digital maps and smart mobile phones' hyper-connectivity.

Tamer