science

Spatial memory

Spatial memory is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Spatial memory rather than just read about it. In short: In cognitive psychology and neuroscience, spatial memory is a form of memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information needed to plan a course to a location and to recall the location of an object or the occurrence of an event. Spatial memory is necessary for orientation in space.

Key takeaways

Spatial memory belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Spatial memory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Spatial memory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In cognitive psychology and neuroscience, spatial memory is a form of memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information needed to plan a course to a location and to recall the location of an object or the occurrence of an event. Spatial memory is necessary for orientation in space. Spatial memory can also be divided into egocentric and allocentric spatial memory. A person's spatial memory is required to navigate in a familiar city. A rat's spatial memory is needed to learn the location of food at the end of a maze. In both humans and animals, spatial memories are summarized as a cognitive map. Spatial memory has representations within working, short-term memory and long-term memory. Research indicates that there are specific areas of the brain associated with spatial memory. Many methods are used for measuring spatial memory in children, adults, and animals.

Short-term spatial memory Short-term memory (STM) can be described as a system allowing one to temporarily store and manage information that is necessary to complete complex cognitive tasks. Tasks which employ short-term memory include learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Spatial memory is a cognitive process that enables a person to remember different locations as well as spatial relations between objects. This allows one to remember where an object is in relation to another object; for instance, allowing someone to navigate in a familiar city. Spatial memories are said to form after a person has already gathered and processed sensory information about her or his environment.

Spatial working memory Working memory (WM) can be described as a limited capacity system that allows one to temporarily store and process information. This temporary store enables one to complete or work on complex tasks while being able to keep information in mind. For instance, the ability to work on a complicated mathematical problem utilizes one's working memory. One influential theory of WM is the Baddeley and Hitch multi-component model of working memory. The most recent version of this model suggests that there are four subcomponents to WM: phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, the central executive, and the episodic buffer. One component of this model, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, is likely responsible for the temporary storage, maintenance, and manipulation of both visual and spatial information.

In contrast to the multi-component model, some researchers believe that STM should be viewed as a unitary construct. In this respect, visual, spatial, and verbal information are thought to be organized by levels of representation rather than the type of store to which they belong. Within the literature, it is suggested that further research into the fractionation of STM and WM be explored. However, much of the research into the visuo-spatial memory construct have been conducted in accordance to the paradigm advanced by Baddeley and Hitch.

The role of the central executive Research into the exact function of the visuo-spatial sketchpad has indicated that both spatial short-term memory and working memory are dependent on executive resources and are not entirely distinct. For instance, performance on a working memory but not on a short-term memory task was affected by articulatory suppression suggesting that impairment on the spatial task was caused by the concurrent performance on a task that had extensive use of executive resources. Results have also found that performances were impaired on STM and WM tasks with executive suppression. This illustrates how, within the visuo-spatial domain, both STM and WM require similar utility of the central executive. Additionally, during a spatial visualisation task (which is related to executive functioning and not STM or WM) concurrent executive suppression impaired performance indicating that the effects were due to common demands on the central executive and not short-term storage. The researchers concluded with the explanation that the central executive employs cognitive strategies enabling participants to both encode and maintain mental representations during short-term memory tasks. Although studies suggest that the central executive is intimately involved in a number of spatial tasks, the exact way in which they are connected remains to be seen.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Spatial memory: Hippocampus shown in red — Hippocampus shown in red

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Spatial memory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Spatial memory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Spatial memory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Spatial memory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Spatial memory

In research: Spatial memory appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Spatial memory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Spatial memory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Memory, Spatial cognition, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Spatial memory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Spatial memory in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Spatial memory means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Spatial memory out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Spatial memory in simple terms?

Why does Spatial memory matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Spatial memory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Spatial memory.