Final Report Summary - SPATIAL MEMORY (Neural correlates of spatial memory in children and adults)
Spatial abilities are highly important for human survival. Children and adults need to learn how to optimally navigate and reorient themselves in their surroundings. The central theme of our ERC research group was to investigate the underlying neural correlates of spatial representations and spatial wayfinding mechanisms, individual differences in navigational ability, as well as the development of spatial skills. We investigated healthy adults and children using a combination of different neuroimaging and behavioural methods. One line of research in adults revealed that landmarks relevant for successful navigation activate a brain region in the medial temporal lobe, the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) during learning of a new environment as well as during retrieval of the information. Furthermore we could show that crosstalk between this brain region and other regions is different for good navigators and less skilled navigators, which is reflected in brain regions known to subserve disparate navigational strategies. Accordingly, we observed anatomical differences in gray and white matter in these regions that were associated with navigational ability. A second line of research investigated the development of spatial skills and strategies. Children and adolescences between 8 and 18 years showed that the selective response to relevant landmarks in the PHG increases gradually with age. Remarkably, young children between 2 and 3 years of age showed a developmental transition in spatial cues use within the relatively short period of only 5 months. Furthermore, individual differences in daily living skills play an important role in developing adult-like orientation strategies. Using electroencephalography, we could already detect early markers of spatial skills in one-year-old infants. Our developmental research showed both gradual and stepwise changes depending on children’s age as well as on the type of spatial information given. Together, our research provides new insight into the nature of human spatial thinking for children and adults.