In this model of the head direction cells in the limbic areas of the rat brain, the intrinsic dynamics of the system is determined by a continuous attractor network of spiking neurons. Synaptic excitation is mediated by NMDA and AMPA formal receptors, while inhibition depends on GABA receptors. We focus on the temporal aspects of state transitions of the system following reorientation of visual cues. The model reproduces the short latencies (80 ms) observed in recordings of the anterodorsal thalamic nucleus. The model makes an experimentally testable prediction concerning the state update dynamics as a function of the magnitude of the reorientation angle.