Comparing location memory for 4 sensory modalities

Stimuli from all sensory modalities can be linked to places and thus might serve as navigation cues. We compared performance for 4 sensory modalities in a location memory task: Black-and-white drawings of free forms (vision), 1-s manipulated environmental sounds (audition), surface textures of natural and artificial materials (touch), and unfamiliar smells (olfaction) were presented in 10 cubes. In the learning stage, participants walked to a cube, opened it, and perceived its content. Subsequently, in a relocation task, they placed each stimulus back in its original location. Although the proportion of correct locations selected just failed to yield significant differences between the modalities, the proportion of stimuli placed in the vicinity of the correct location or on the correct side of the room was significantly higher for vision than for touch, olfaction, and audition. These outcomes suggest that approximate location memory is superior for vision compared with other sensory modalities.