Tlauka M, Clark CR, Liu P, Conway M. Encoding modality and spatial memory retrieval.
Brain Cogn 2009;
70:116-22. [PMID:
19216017 DOI:
10.1016/j.bandc.2009.01.002]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2008] [Revised: 12/18/2008] [Accepted: 01/14/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the temporal characteristics of event-related brain electrical activity associated with the processing of spatial memories derived from linguistic and tactile information. Participants learned a map by (1) reading a text description of the map, (2) touching a wooden topological representation of the map (hidden from view), or (3) both. Subsequently, the participants' ability to use their spatial knowledge was tested in a spatial orientation task. Differential patterns of brain activity as a function of encoding modality were found at the very early (preconscious) stages of processing. In contrast, an analysis of behavioral performance revealed no differences between the encoding groups. A model of spatial memory retrieval is presented to account for the findings.
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