Finding your way in a bubble is easier, if you can visualize it

Navigation towards a goal in previously unknown environments likely involves storing and replaying sequences of relevant spatial information. Previous studies on spatial memory adopted “cartography” paradigms in which subjects, typically moving in 2D, could remember and then rely on salient cues, such as landmarks or orientation cues. Little is known about navigation in curved environments with minimal salient information. The present project investigates such a capacity in a sparse, spheric, three-dimensional virtual reality environment that lacks salient landmarks and orientation cues. This environment is created by projecting a dodecahedron onto a sphere where each face differs in color, providing basic spatial reference. In one condition, participants can move in space in all directions. In another condition, participants are anchored to the sphere’s surface, mimicking terrestrial movement in real life. After the spatial memory task, the participants’ spatial imagery, object imagery and verbal abilities were assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Results show that performance was similar regardless of movement type. However, slower individuals, and those who scored higher in spatial and object imagery in the questionnaire, performed significantly better in the spatial memory task, while better verbal skills anti-correlated with spatial memory in female subjects. These findings suggest that taking time to encode spatial information, as well as individual differences in cognitive abilities are crucial in spatial memory tasks, perhaps because imagery skills facilitated the participants’ ability to form mental maps of the spherical environment and keep track of their position relative to the changing perspective.