Deductive Spatial Reasoning: From Neurological Evidence to a Cognitive Model

Cognitive modeling aims more and more to explain, predict and integrate behavioral data with brain activations found in fMRI studies. In this article we analyze transitive inferences (e.g. A is left of B and B is left of C then A is left of C) during the spatial reasoning processes. Behavioral findings suggest that reasoners tend to construct a mental model from the premises, which they in turn use to inspect to draw inferences. A reanalysis of our own previous fMRI-study investigating such examples provided us with brain activations pattern. A cognitive model using the (restricted) Bold-function in ACT-R 6.0 can partially predict and explain the results. The findings, limits and potentials of the current representation of the Bold-function in ACT-R are briefly discussed.