Is there a geometric module for spatial orientation? squaring theory and evidence

Abstract

There is evidence, beginning with Cheng (1986), that mobile animals may use the geometry of surrounding areas to reorient following disorientation. Gallistel (1990) proposed that geometry is used to compute the major or minor axes of space and suggested that such information might form an encapsulated cognitive module. Research reviewed here, conducted on a wide variety of species since the initial discovery of the use of geometry and the formulation of the modularity claim, has supported some aspects of the approach, while casting doubt on others. Three possible processing models are presented that vary in the way in which (and the extent to which) they instantiate the modularity claim. The extant data do not permit us to discriminate among them. We propose a modified concept of modularity for which an empirical program of research is more tractable. THEORETICAL AND REVIEW ARTICLES

Overshadowing of geometry learning by discrete landmarks in the water maze: Effects of relative salience and relative validity of competing cues.

“…Indeed, it may be that in those studies that utilised wall colour as the non--geometric cue the colour of walls could be processed as part of a 'modified' geometric module. As Cheng and Newcombe (2005) suggested, the representation of geometry from the shape of the environment may incorporate information provided by the non--geometric cues that create the shape. It seems plausible that this integrated representation is more readily formed when the non--geometric cues are integrated into the boundary itself, as in the case of colour cues.…”

Is there an innate geometric module? Effects of experience with angular geometric cues on spatial re-orientation based on the shape of the environment

“…When disoriented in a rectangular enclosure several vertebrate species (reviews in Cheng and Newcombe 2005;Spelke 2003;Vallortigara 2006) appear to make use of the shape of the enclosure to reorient themselves, relying on metric information (long wall versus short wall) and directional sense (left versus right). Several species have also proved able to conjoin geometric information (the shape of the enclosure) with non-geometric information (e.g.…”

Rudiments of mind: Insights through the chick model on number and space cognition in animals.

“…A common experimental situation makes use of a rectangular enclosure to test geometry in animals. By simply relying on metric (length of contiguous surfaces) and the sense of left and right, several vertebrate species appear to be able to reorient and relocate a target position (reviewed in Cheng & Newcombe, 2005). In such an environment, the symmetry is such that with a turn of 180°, another position is defined with the very same distribution of geometric information.…”