Understanding and representing spatial information

Abstract

How we understand and represent the space around us is a vital aspect of how we think and act. The research on which my book was based tried to answer the question about what effect vision has on this process, by reversing the usual focus on vision and considering spatial representation also in the total absence of vision. Studies with congenitally totally blind and with sighted children, together with findings from a variety of other areas, suggest how touch and movement can complement other sources of reference cues. The paper that follows discusses some of the practical implications for spatial representation and spatial imagery without vision.