Ambulation improves memory for rotated scenes

In the real world, memory and navigation operate through the interplay between visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular systems to give rise to multimodal spatial representations of the environment. However, it remains unclear in what situations the absence of ambulatory cues might affect spatial memory, particularly given the wide-spread use of desktop virtual reality (VR) in studies of human spatial memory and navigation. In the present study, we employ ambulatory and immersive VR technology to probe people’s memory for spatial layouts across the same or rotated perspectives. Critically, we explored whether cognitive processes underlying spatial memory for perspective change differ depending on whether self-motion cues are available to support performance (i.e., when perspective changes due to observer movement as opposed to display rotation). Leveraging the wealth of behavioral data that can be obtained from immersive VR technology, we demonstrate that self-motion cues enhance spatial memory accuracy by shaping the temporal dynamics of decision making, pupillary responses, and eye movement behaviors. This study highlights the importance of integrating naturalistic movement cues, particularly those involving rotation, into ecologically valid paradigms which will enable further advancements of theories on real-world navigation.