Does spatial locative comprehension predict landmark-based navigation?

In the present study we investigated the role of spatial locative comprehension in learning and retrieving pathways when landmarks were available and when they were absent in a sample of typically developing 6- to 11-year-old children. Our results show that the more proficient children are in unders...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-01, Vol.10 (1), p.e0115432-e0115432
Main Authors: Piccardi, Laura, Palermo, Liana, Bocchi, Alessia, Guariglia, Cecilia, D'Amico, Simonetta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Analysis of Variance
Animal cognition
Animal memory
Brain research
Child
Children
Children & youth
Comprehension
Environmental science
Female
Gender differences
Humans
Hypotheses
Language
Learning
Linguistics
Male
Navigation behavior
Neural networks
Neuropsychology
Orientation
Sex Factors
Space Perception
Spatial discrimination learning
Studies
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Summary:In the present study we investigated the role of spatial locative comprehension in learning and retrieving pathways when landmarks were available and when they were absent in a sample of typically developing 6- to 11-year-old children. Our results show that the more proficient children are in understanding spatial locatives the more they are able to learn pathways, retrieve them after a delay and represent them on a map when landmarks are present in the environment. These findings suggest that spatial language is crucial when individuals rely on sequences of landmarks to drive their navigation towards a given goal but that it is not involved when navigational representations based on the geometrical shape of the environment or the coding of body movements are sufficient for memorizing and recalling short pathways.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0115432