Abstract
Spatial memory is a multimodal representation of the environment, which can be mediated by different sensory signals. Here we investigate how the auditory modality influences memorization, contributing to the mental representation of a scene. We designed an audio test inspired by a validated spatial memory test, the Corsi-Block test for blind individuals. The test was carried out in two different conditions, with non-semantic and semantic stimuli, presented in different sessions and displaced on an audio-tactile device. Furthermore, the semantic sounds were spatially displaced in order to reproduce an audio scene, explored by participants during the test. Thus, we verified if semantic rather than non-semantic sounds are better recalled and whether exposure to an auditory scene can enhance memorization skills. Our results show that sighted subjects performed better than blind participants after the exploration of the semantic scene. This suggests that blind participants focus on the perceived sound positions and do not use items’ locations learned during the exploration. We discuss these results in terms of the role of visual experience on spatial memorization skills and the ability to take advantage of semantic information stored in the memory.
Highlights
In order to explore the surroundings of a familiar or unfamiliar environment, the brain needs to build a proper representation of the objects composing the surrounding space
According to the model proposed by Kosslyn[7], the early visual areas such as V1 are activated during mental imagery
According to the model proposed by Baddeley and Hitch[9], WM is mainly divided into three subsystems: the central executive component (CE) that allows accessing information retained in the WM; the phonological loop, related to the verbal working memory; the visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM), designed to retain and process visuo-spatial information
Summary
In order to explore the surroundings of a familiar or unfamiliar environment, the brain needs to build a proper representation of the objects composing the surrounding space. Several works[14,15] show that blind individuals are able to store and process mental images and representations of spatial information to sighted participants by using the remaining sensory modalities to substitute vision in mental imagery processes. Blind people rely on non-visual spatial images whose elaboration processes require more time per se[22,23] Supporting this view, Vecchi[24] tested sighted and congenitally blind individuals, showing that the latter group is able to generate visuospatial images, but perform significantly worse than sighted participants in spatial memory tasks. These results indicate that vision seems to be the “preferred modality” for visuo-spatial working memory tasks and that spatial processing is strongly affected by the lack of vision. Our results show that the ability to recall sound sequences benefits more from the mental image of the audio scene in sighted individuals than in blind subjects
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