Does spatialized audio enhance the creation of mental representations?

Navigating unfamiliar environments without vision is a considerable challenge for blind individuals, as it requires constructing accurate cognitive maps. Binaural audio feedback, which delivers spatialized auditory cues, has been proposed as a means of enhancing spatial navigation by leveraging the auditory system's natural ability to localize sounds in three dimensions. This study investigated whether binaural audio feedback offers measurable advantages over non-spatialized feedback in supporting spatial perception and mental representation. Fourteen participants, seven blind individuals and seven blindfolded sighted individuals, explored controlled environments under both feedback conditions and reconstructed the layouts using LEGO models. Performance was evaluated through spatial correlation analysis and distance accuracy measures. Results revealed no significant differences between binaural and non-spatialized conditions for either group. These findings indicate that spatialization of descriptive audio alone may not be sufficient to enhance spatial representations, suggesting that factors such as prior training, task design, and integration with other sensory cues may be critical for unlocking the full potential of binaural audio in assistive navigation.