Facilitation of learning spatial relations among locations by visual cues: generality across spatial configurations

Abstract

Spatial pattern learning permits the learning of the location of objects in space relative to each other without reference to discrete visual landmarks or environmental geometry. In the present experiment, we investigated conditions that facilitate spatial pattern learning. Specifically, human participants searched in a real environment or interactive 3-D computer-generated virtual environment open-field search task for four hidden goal locations arranged in a diamond configuration located in a 5 x 5 matrix of raised bins. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Pattern Only, Landmark + Pattern, or Cues + Pattern. All participants experienced a Training phase followed by a Testing phase. Visual cues were coincident with the goal locations during Training only in the Cues + Pattern group whereas a single visual cue at a non-goal location maintained a consistent spatial relationship with the goal locations during Training only in the Landmark + Pattern group. All groups were then tested in the absence of visual cues. Results in both environments indicated that participants in all three groups learned the spatial configuration of goal locations. The presence of the visual cues during Training facilitated acquisition of the task for the Landmark + Pattern and Cues + Pattern groups compared to the Pattern Only group. During Testing the Landmark + Pattern and Cues + Pattern groups did not differ when their respective visual cues were removed. Furthermore, during Testing the performance of these two groups was superior to the Pattern Only group. Results generalize prior research to a different configuration of spatial locations, isolate spatial pattern learning as the process facilitated by visual cues, and indicate that the facilitation of learning spatial relations among locations by visual cues does not require coincident visual cues.

Enclosure size and the use of local and global geometric cues for reorientation

“…The use of a virtual environment lent itself well to such an investigation because of the ease in environmental manipulation coupled with the similarity of mechanisms utilized in real and virtual environments (see Sturz, Bodily, Katz, Kelly, 2009;Sturz, Brown, & Kelly, 2009;Sturz, Kelly, & Brown, 2010). To this end, we trained two groups of participants to find a location uniquely specified by both local (i.e., short wall left, short wall right, obtuse corner angle) and global (i.e., right side of principal axis) geometric cues in either a small or a large trapezoid-shaped virtual enclosure (see Fig.…”

Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species

“…This result seems counterintuitive in that pattern A should have provided visual cues, or direct internal (i.e., box edges) and external (e.g., wall colour) references for the macaws to locate the food. The use of visual cues is expected to enhance spatial pattern learning, as has been shown in, for example, human participants showing better performance when a visual cue is associated with either rewarded or non-rewarded locations [57]. While a previous study investigating spatial pattern learning in rats has also shown that visual cues facilitated rats to not revisit locations where they had retrieved rewards, visual cues did not necessarily enhance their spatial pattern learning [58].…”

Pattern Cue and Visual Cue Competition in a Foraging Task by Rats

“…Other research also using rats on a radial maze (Brown & Wintersteen, 2004) or in a pole task (Brown & Giumetti, 2006) and humans (Sturz, Brown, & Kelly, 2009;Sturz, Kelly, & Brown, 2010) using a variation of the pole task in both real and virtual environments has provided additional evidence that visual cues do not overshadow pattern cues. In fact, in the experiments that used humans, there was evidence that visual cues actually potentiated learning about pattern.…”