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@ARTICLE{Reisner:283029,
author = {Reisner, Volker and Schäfer, Theo A J and König, Leonard
and Kim, Misun and Doeller, Christian F},
title = {{L}ocomotion-dependent use of geometric and body cues in
humans mapping 3{D} space.},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the
United States of America},
volume = {122},
number = {51},
issn = {0027-8424},
address = {Washington, DC},
publisher = {National Acad. of Sciences},
reportid = {DZNE-2025-01441},
pages = {e2505613122},
year = {2025},
abstract = {The ability to represent locations across multiple
dimensions of space is a core function of cognitive maps.
While the influence of boundary-dependent environmental
geometry on spatial representations has been extensively
studied in 2D spaces, less is known about the role of
boundaries for volumetric spatial memory. Research in humans
and other animals has demonstrated distinct processing of
the vertical and horizontal spatial dimensions, likely
related to species-specific modes of locomotion. Here, we
investigate whether different locomotion modes, flying and
walking, affect the use of vertical boundaries, leading to
possibly distinct volumetric representations. In a Virtual
Reality experiment, human participants memorized objects
within a symmetric 3D enclosure, and then were asked to
replace them in either the familiar or geometrically
deformed environments. We found that the flying group
exhibited lower vertical than horizontal spatial memory
precision, whereas the walking group showed the opposite
pattern, an effect related to using their body axis as a
vertical 'ruler'. Within deformed environments, object
replacements in the flying group followed the predictions
from a 3D-extended boundary-vector-cell-like computational
model of spatial mapping that treated all boundaries
equally, whereas those in the walking condition favored a
modified model that prioritized the ground boundary. Our
findings suggest that gravity-related movement constraints
promote different utilization of geometric and body-related
cues, resulting in flexible representations of volumetric
space.},
keywords = {Humans / Cues / Male / Locomotion: physiology / Female /
Adult / Space Perception: physiology / Virtual Reality /
Walking: physiology / Spatial Memory: physiology / Young
Adult / 3D space (Other) / cognitive map (Other) /
environmental geometry (Other) / spatial memory (Other) /
virtual reality (Other)},
cin = {AG Wolbers},
ddc = {500},
cid = {I:(DE-2719)1310002},
pnm = {353 - Clinical and Health Care Research (POF4-353)},
pid = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-353},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
pubmed = {pmid:41417605},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2505613122},
url = {https://pub.dzne.de/record/283029},
}