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The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
New visuospatial associations by training verbospatial mappings in the first language.
Wim Notebaert1, Wendy De Moor, Wim Gevers
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. wim.notebaert@ugent.be
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|January 31, 2008
Summary
Spatial language and location processing involve shared representations, particularly for native language words. Altering word-response associations impacts location-response associations, suggesting integrated spatial cognition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- Understanding how the brain processes spatial information from different sources is crucial.
- Investigating the interplay between language and spatial cognition provides insights into shared neural representations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if verbospatial (language-based) and visuospatial (location-based) information utilize common neural representations.
- To explore the influence of manipulating word-to-response associations on location-to-response associations.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed tasks involving spatial words (LEFT, RIGHT) and spatial locations.
- Experimental manipulation altered the learned associations between spatial words and motor responses.
- Performance was assessed for first-language (Dutch) and second-language (French) spatial words, individually and combined.
Main Results:
- Altering associations for native language spatial words (Dutch) also changed associations for spatial locations.
- This effect was not observed for second-language spatial words (French).
- Combining languages did not enhance the observed effect.
Conclusions:
- Verbospatial and visuospatial information likely share common underlying representations in the brain.
- This shared representation is more robust for first-language spatial terms.
- Findings support an integrated model of spatial cognition where language and perception interact.
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