Editing Spatial memory (section)

{{short description|Memory about one's environment and spatial orientation}}
[[File:Stanley compass 1.jpg|thumb|Spatial memory is required to navigate in an environment.]]

In [[cognitive psychology]] and [[neuroscience]], '''spatial memory''' is a form of memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information needed to plan a course to a location and to recall the location of an object or the occurrence of an event.<ref name="Burgess">{{cite book|last=Burgess|first=Neil|title=Spatial memory|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2021|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/spatial-memory}}</ref> Spatial memory is necessary for orientation in space.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_355 |chapter=Spatial Memory in Humans |title=Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology |date=2010 |last1=Morgan |first1=Michael M. |last2=Christie |first2=Macdonald J. |last3=De Lecea |first3=Luis |last4=Halford |first4=Jason C. G. |last5=Leysen |first5=Josee E. |last6=Meck |first6=Warren H. |last7=Buhusi |first7=Catalin V. |last8=Bubar |first8=Marcy J. |last9=Cunningham |first9=Kathryn A. |last10=Bubar |first10=Marcy J. |last11=Cunningham |first11=Kathryn A. |last12=Foltin |first12=Richard W. |last13=Roberts |first13=David C. S. |last14=Marneros |first14=Andreas |last15=Marneros |first15=Andreas |last16=Hofer |first16=Alex |last17=Ellenbroek |first17=Bart |last18=Correll |first18=Christoph U. |last19=Newhouse |first19=Paul |last20=Wilkins |first20=Heather |last21=Ellenbroek |first21=Bart |last22=Verster |first22=Joris C. |last23=Childs |first23=Emma |last24=Remington |first24=Gary |last25=Spina |first25=Edoardo |last26=Fleischhacker |first26=W. Wolfgang |last27=Atack |first27=John |last28=Lavreysen |first28=Hilde |last29=Roberts |first29=David C. S. |last30=Preskorn |first30=Sheldon |pages=1262–1266 |isbn=978-3-540-68698-9 |display-authors=1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-809633-8.90082-7 |chapter=Spatial Memory |title=Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior |date=2019 |last1=Pritchard |first1=David J. |pages=320–326 |isbn=978-0-12-813252-4 }}</ref> Spatial memory can also be divided into egocentric and allocentric spatial memory.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-397025-1.00277-3 |chapter=The Neural Underpinnings of Spatial Memory and Navigation |title=Brain Mapping |date=2015 |last1=Kolarik |first1=B. |last2=Ekstrom |first2=A. |pages=507–514 |isbn=978-0-12-397316-0 }}</ref> A person's spatial memory is required to navigate in a familiar city. A rat's spatial memory is needed to learn the location of food at the end of a [[maze]]. In both humans and animals, spatial memories are summarized as a [[cognitive map]].<ref name="Wang">{{cite book|last=Wang|first=Jin-Hu|title=Associative Memory Cells: Basic Units of Memory Trace|publisher=Springer Nature|year=2019|page=94|isbn=978-9811395017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtGuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA94}}</ref>

Spatial memory has representations within working, [[short-term memory]] and [[long-term memory]]. Research indicates that there are specific areas of the brain associated with spatial memory.<ref name="Poeppel">{{cite book|last1=Poeppel|first1=David|last2=Mangun|first2=George R.|last3=Gazzaniga|first3=Michael S.|title=The Cognitive Neurosciences|publisher=The MIT Press|year=2020|page=194|isbn=978-0262043250|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h63jDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA194}}</ref> Many methods are used for measuring spatial memory in children, adults, and animals.<ref name="Wang"/>