When gestures show us the way: Co-speech gestures selectively facilitate navigation and spatial memory.

How does gesturing during route learning relate to subsequent
spatial performance? We examined the relationship
between gestures produced spontaneously while studying
route directions and spatial representations of the navigated
environment. Participants studied route directions, then navigated
those routes from memory in a virtual environment, and
finally had their memory of the environment assessed. We
found that, for navigators with low spatial perspective-taking
performance on the Spatial Orientation Test, more gesturing
from a survey perspective predicted more accurate memory
following navigation. Thus, co-thought gestures accompanying
route learning relate to performance selectively, depending on
the gesturers’ spatial ability and the perspective of their gestures.
Survey gestures may help some individuals visualize an
overall route that they can retain in memory.