The main focus of this workshop will be on how biological, environmental, computational, task-, linguistic and cultural constraints interact to determine the choice of frames of reference for the coding of spatial information. By bringing together researchers from various fields we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the scope and limits of human cognitive flexibility in the use of frames of reference.
· Developmental issues. Spatial cognition is a central aspect of human adaptation. What is our degree of biological preparedness for spatial representation and reasoning? What is the role of the physical and cultural environment in the development of mature spatial competence? How do children come to coordinate spatial information from various modalities?
· Spatial attention and its pathologies. Is attention essential to the coordination of spatial information across modalities? How do pathologies of attention affect our spatial competence? What can they teach us about the way we encode spatial positions and relations?
· Space and language. What are the frames of reference used in natural languages? Do the frames of reference dominant in a given language affect the way spatial relations are coded in non-linguistic tasks? What is the nature of the transitions between perceptual, conceptual and linguistic spatial representations?
· Representations of space in art and architecture. The two most common forms of spatial representations used in art and architecture are geometral and perspectival. Do they form the two ends of a continuum between allocentric and egocentric representations? Could axonometric representations, heavily used by architects be seen as the product of their combination? Do they have a neural basis? What dictates the use of one type of representation over another?
· Virtual environments and new technologies. Both phylogenetically and ontogenetically, the development of our spatial competence is constrained in part by physical laws and regularities? What happens when we operate in virtual environments or use technologies where different constraints are in place? What is our degree of flexibility in the construction of non-natural spatial representations?
· Computational models. Distinct sensory modalities use distinct frames of reference in their early stages. How are spatial representations in these modalities integrated? What are the current computational models? Is it necessary to postulate a single multisensory representation in a body- or a world-centered frame of reference? Does integration rely on more flexible and task-dependent computations?
Organizers : Elisabeth Pacherie & Jérôme Dokic |
Where: ESPCI - 10, rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris. Amphithéâtre Joliot, 2ème étage, escalier N.
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