Moving in time and space – Do (a)symmetric time-space mappings depend on modality-specific processing?

具身认知理论认为，时间、空间和运动的表征等认知表征是相互调节的。然而，两种相互矛盾的理论对这种调制如何实现提供了不同的解释。根据不对称假设，运动影响空间表征，进而影响时间表征。因此，对于时空映射，不对称假设预测空间表示对时间表示的影响比时间表示对空间表示的影响更大。相比之下，幅度理论（ATOM）主张时间和空间是由通过运动发展起来的共享幅度系统处理的。因此，对于时空映射，ATOM 假设提出时间和空间表示同等地相互影响。虽然这两种理论方法都得到了实证支持，但更仔细的检查表明，这可能部分是由于不同模式在寻找适合任务的解决方案方面的相对贡献。众所周知，在不同的模态中，时间和空间的处理是不同敏感的。例如，听觉信息处理对时间信息比空间信息更敏感，而视觉信息处理对空间信息比时间信息更敏感。由此可见，对任一假设的正确检验都需要控制不同模式对适合任务的解决方案的相对贡献。为此，拟议研究项目的目的是系统地操纵不同模式的相对信息价值，以完成需要准确时间和空间表示的任务（即接球）。该研究项目的独特贡献是从具身认知的角度对 ATOM 的不对称假设进行了关键测试，从而从根本上增加了我们对运动和时空映射之间的相互作用如何通过特定模态处理进行调节的理解。

Embodied cognition accounts submit that cognitive representations such as representations of time and space and movements mutually modulate each other. Yet, two conflicting theories provide alternative explanations as to how this modulation is effectuated. According to the asymmetry hypothesis movements influence spatial representations, which then influence temporal representations. Therefore, with respect to time-space mappings, the asymmetry hypothesis predicts that spatial representations have a larger impact on temporal representations than temporal representations on spatial representations. In contrast, A Theory of Magnitude (ATOM) advocates that time and space are processed by a shared magnitude system that develops through movement. Consequently, with respect to time-space mappings, the ATOM hypothesis proposes that temporal and spatial representations impact each other equally. While both theoretical approaches have received empirical support, closer inspection reveals that this may – in part – be due to the relative contribution of different modalities to finding task-appropriate solutions. It is well known that the processing of time and space is differently sensitive within the different modalities. For instance, auditory information processing is more sensitive to temporal than spatial information, whereas visual information processing is more sensitive to spatial than temporal information. It follows that a proper test of either hypothesis needs to control for relative contributions of different modalities for task-appropriate solutions. To this end, the aim of the proposed research project is to systematically manipulate the relative informational value of different modalities for tasks that require accurate temporal and spatial representations (i.e. catching a ball). The unique contribution of this research project is a critical test of the asymmetry hypothesis against ATOM from an embodied cognition perspective, thereby fundamentally increasing our understanding how interactions between movements and space-time mappings are modulated by modality-specific processing.