Communicating spatial information from verbal descriptions

Abstract

Communication between people is difficult. A well-known example of this premise stems from asking directions in an unknown city. This can result in elaborate stories in which the narrator gives detailed and correct information concerning turns that need to be taken and landmarks that will be encountered. Yet, when left alone, the person who needs to find his way is clueless whether to turn left or right at the first crossing. These types of problems in (spatial) communication gives rise to certain questions, which are addressed in the present thesis. Are people actually able to imagine route descriptions? Or more general, how do people represent spatial information when it is "only" communicated through language?

The research that is described in this thesis examines both simple spatial sentences that describe a single spatial relations and complex spatial descriptions such as a route description. Several findings from the behavioral and neuroimaging (fMRI and EEG) studies presented here support the idea that people can form spatial representations on the basis of verbal descriptions.