TURN OFF YOUR GPS GUIDANCE MAP, AND YOU MAY slow declines in spatial memory.
I have recently been thinking about memory exercises that I can incorporate into my daily life. I have written about how I sometimes make a grocery list and then commit it to memory. I have my list at the grocery store, but I try to do my shopping without it.
What other memory exercises can you and I weave into our days? Today we briefly examine how putting your GPS navigation device aside may help you retain your spatial memory.
“It seems a great big hole to me,” squeaked Bilbo (who had no experience of dragons and only of hobbit-holes). He was getting excited and interested again, so he forgot to keep his mouth shut. He loved maps, and in his hall, there hung a large one of the Country Round with all his favorite walks marked on it in red ink. “How could such a large door be kept secret from everybody outside, apart from the dragon?” he asked. He was only a little hobbit, you must remember.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
GPS and spatial memory
Consider turning off your GPS device and trying to navigate the old-fashioned way.
Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation devices and applications are everywhere. But does using GPS alter our internal navigation system or spatial memory?
Researchers assessed the lifetime GPS experiences of 50 regular drivers. The scientists also examined components of spatial memory, including cognitive mapping, memory strategy use, and landmark encoding using virtual navigation tasks.
In this first-of-its-kind study, McGill University (Canada) researchers Louisa Dahmani and Véronique D. Bohbot discovered this:
People with greater lifetime GPS experience have worse spatial memory during self-guided navigation when they are required to navigate without GPS.
In a follow-up session, 13 subjects retested three years after the initial evaluation. With an admittedly small sample size, the study authors demonstrated greater GPS use since initial testing appeared associated with a steeper decline in hippocampal-dependent spatial memory.
The hippocampus is a small, curved brain structure involved in three primary functions: forming new memories, learning, and emotions. It also plays an important part in the recall of emotional memories.
Moreover, the researchers report that individuals using GPS more did not do so because they felt they had a poor sense of direction. This finding hints that extensive GPS use led to a decline in spatial memory rather than the other way around.
These findings are significant with society’s rising reliance on GPS.
My take — GPS and spatial memory
Regularly using GPS affects our spatial memory in a dose-dependent fashion — the more you use GPS, the greater spatial memory declines over time. This relationship may be causal.
The study authors note that the clinical literature that compared GPS use to other navigational aids (for example, maps) suggests that engagement volume is important for spatial learning. GPS devices make us less engaged in navigation; I know that I am not as aware of landmarks as reading a map or navigating without an aid.
I feel a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment when I arrive at the right place without the aid of GPS. And you?
Thank you for joining me today. If you want to explore memory in more depth, please check out my more comprehensive Medium piece:
The information I provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you seek medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this blog.
