Short-term memory for spatial location in goal-directed locomotion

A blind walking study was conducted to examine the nature of the representation that subjects use to guide goal-directed locomotion. Subjects walked blindfolded to targets 4,8, and 12 m away, either immediately after visual occlusion or following a 2-sec or 30-sec no-vision delay. On half of the trials, subjects were cued as to target prior to visual occlusion; on the other trials, the specific target was identified after visual occlusion, just prior to walking. Although consistency in target acquisition was influenced by both distance and delay, prior knowledge as to target had no impact on error. These results suggest that subjects remember/forget the general spatial layout of the task environment as opposed to a specific target location.