An Experiment Research on Landmark Learning underly human Spatial Cognition

Spatial cognition is a basic cognitive ability for human to realize and advance the world. Animal and human models have identified two dissociable systems for learning a space---environment centered-allocentric strategy and body centered-egocentric strategy. Despite the abundance of evidence have demonstrated differences between two navigation strategies, it is still unknown whether allocentric navigation and egocentric navigation are mediated by the same or different downstream information input systems. Based on a mutual "online navigation task" and "offline recognition test", the current study aims to investigate the causal nature of landmark cognitive mechanism to navigational strategy. In navigation task, participants were asked to search a goal either using an egocentric or an allocentric strategy spontaneously in two different stamazes. After that, an offline recognition test about the landmark relationship of the maze was followed. Then the visual landmark learning and recognitive landmark relationship between two strategies was compared. The result found landmark processing is specific for allocentric navigation, consistently landmark relationship is critical involved in the organization of allocentric knowledge. Based on "online learning" and "offline representation", the current study demonstrated landmark is specific for allocentric navigation. In addition, the conclusion that stronger landmark process of allocentric navigation might be applied to simulate and develop computational model in future research.