Abstract
Previous research has shown that our ability to imagine object rotations is limited and associated with spatial reference frames; performance is poor unless the axis of rotation is aligned with the object-intrinsic frame or with the environmental frame. Here, we report an active effect of these reference frames on the process of mental rotation: they can disambiguate object rotations when the axis of rotation is ambiguous. Using novel mental rotation stimuli, in which the rotational axes between pairs of objects can be defined with respect to multiple frames of reference, we demonstrate that the vertical axis is preferentially used for imagined object rotations over the object-intrinsic axis for an efficient minimum rotation. In contrast, the object-intrinsic axis can play a decisive role when the vertical axis is absent as a way of resolving the ambiguity of rotational motion. When interpreted in conjunction with recent advances in the Bayesian framework for motion perception, our results suggest that these spatial frames of reference are incorporated into an internal model of object rotations, thereby shaping our ability to imagine the transformation of an object's spatial structure.
Highlights
An object’s spatial structure and its transformations can be represented in multiple frames of reference
We present novel evidence that these spatial frames of reference can have an active effect on the imagination of object rotations: they can disambiguate the mental rotation of an object when the axis of rotation is ambiguous
Our results indicate a predominance of the vertical axis in determining the rotational motion to be imagined when the axis of rotation is ambiguous
Summary
An object’s spatial structure and its transformations can be represented in multiple frames of reference. The objectintrinsic frames specify an object’s spatial properties with respect to its intrinsic axes (e.g., major axes or axes of symmetry). The environmental frames specify the spatial properties of objects with respect to principal directions of the environment. The performance of mental rotation is poor unless the axis and planes of rotation are aligned with the principal axes of the object or with those of the environment— typically the environmental vertical. This suggests that our ability to imagine object rotations is optimized for specific rotations about the principal axes in the object-intrinsic and the environmental frames. We reveal the relative contributions of spatial reference frames to the process of mental rotation
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