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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise

Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise

Published on: January 26, 2024

Aphantasia is associated with spatial memory and navigation difficulties in complex virtual environments.

Adrienne Li¹, Antoine Coutrot², Tolu I Faromika¹

¹York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Neuropsychologia

|May 26, 2026

Summary

Individuals with aphantasia, lacking visual imagery, struggle with complex navigation tasks. This study shows visual imagery is crucial for spatial navigation when recalling intricate visual details.

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Last Updated: May 28, 2026

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Spatial Cognition

Background:

Visual imagery is theorized to be important for spatial navigation.
Its precise role in wayfinding, especially for individuals with aphantasia (inability to visualize), remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of aphantasia on spatial navigation performance using the Sea Hero Quest (SHQ) game.
To determine if reduced visual imagery ability correlates with navigation difficulties, particularly under increased cognitive load.

Main Methods:

Compared navigation performance in aphantasic individuals (n=63) and controls (n=99) on SHQ levels of varying difficulty.
Utilized self-report measures for navigation, memory, and visual imagery (Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire).
Normalized SHQ performance metrics (trajectory length, completion time) against a large control dataset (n>120,000).

Main Results:

Aphantasic participants showed lower self-reported spatial and memory abilities.
They required significantly more time to complete high-difficulty SHQ levels compared to controls.
Imagery ability correlated with performance on challenging navigation tasks and self-reported spatial skills.

Conclusions:

Visual imagery is essential for spatial navigation, particularly when complex visual information recall is required.
Wayfinding difficulties in aphantasia are significant and not easily compensated by alternative strategies like verbal encoding.