Structuring process and closure principle in spatial and temporal reproduction tasks.

The goal of the experiment reported was to replicate the previous Sarrazin's (2000) study in order to verify, with an adequate methodological procedure, whether or not the closure principle applied in spatial and temporal reproduction tasks. The hypothesis defended was that the closure of the pattern is an intrinsic property of the structuring process in spatial memory. The stimuli consisted of eight visually presented dots that appeared sequentially with inter-dot distances corresponding to inter-dot durations.

Coupling kinematics of memory and kinematics of movement: the conditions for a psychological relativity.

The organization of spatial and temporal information relative to memory-movement interactions was studied in a recall task. Stimuli consisted of four different configurations of eight dots, presented sequentially. In two configurations, the stimuli were spatiotemporal congruent, with (constant or variable) inter-stimulus distances corresponding to (constant or variable) inter-stimulus time intervals.

Dynamics of visuo-spatial remembering: a study of information structuring in memory.

We studied the process by which learning a pattern of motor activity reaches a steady-state characterized by a reduction in fluctuations. The stimuli consisted of eight visually presented dots that appeared sequentially. In a 20-trial learning phase, participants reproduced the positions of the eight dots after each presentation.

Tau and Kappa effects in physical space: the case of audition.

The organization of spatio-temporal information in an auditory memory task was studied in two experiments. Stimuli consisted of four different configurations of eight sequentially presented beeps. In two configurations, the stimuli were space-time congruent, with (constant or variable) inter-stimulus distances corresponding to (constant or variable) inter-stimulus time intervals.

Dynamics of balancing space and time in memory: tau and kappa effects revisited.

In 3 experiments, the authors studied the organization of spatiotemporal information in memory. Stimuli consisted of configurations of dots, presented sequentially. The stimuli were either proportional, with interdot distances corresponding to interdot durations, or not proportional, with interdol distances not corresponding to interdot durations.

Does mental simulation of following a path improve navigation performance without vision?

We recorded the paths of subjects who walked along a memorized hexagonal route without vision, and studied the impact of previous mental simulation of this activity on how well the path could be reproduced from memory. We compared two kinds of mental simulation to actual physical practice, rest, or simple memorization of the path. The results indicated that mental simulation led to better reproduction of the global shape of a path than rest, and in fact mental simulation was as effective as actual physical practice.