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The use of Navigation Assistance Systems for spatial orienting has become increasingly popular. Such automated navigation support, however, comes with a reduced processing of the surrounding environment and often with a decline of spatial orienting ability. To prevent such deskilling and to support spatial learning, the present study investigated incidental spatial learning by comparing standard navigation instructions with two modified navigation instruction conditions. The first modified instruction condition highlighted landmarks and provided additional redundant information regarding the landmark (contrast condition), while the second highlighted landmarks and included personal relevant information regarding the landmark (personal-reference condition). Participants' spatial knowledge of the previously unknown virtual city was tested three weeks later. Behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) data demonstrated enhanced memory performance for participants in the modified navigation instruction conditions without further differentiating between modified instructions. Recognition performance of landmarks was better and the late positive complex of the event-related potential (ERP) revealed amplitude differences reflecting an increased amount of recollected information for modified navigation instructions.The results indicate a significant long-term spatial learning effect when landmarks are highlighted during navigation instructions.

Advancements in hardware technology and analysis methods allow more and more mobility in electroencephalography (EEG) experiments. Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) studies may record various types of data such as motion or eye tracking in addition to neural activity. Although there are options available to analyze EEG data in a standardized way, they do not fully cover complex multimodal data from mobile experiments. We thus propose the BeMoBIL Pipeline, an easy-to-use pipeline in MATLAB that supports the time-synchronized handling of multimodal data. It is based on EEGLAB and fieldtrip and consists of automated functions for EEG preprocessing and subsequent source separation. It also provides functions for motion data processing and extraction of event markers from different data modalities, including the extraction of events from EEG using independent component analysis. The pipeline introduces a new robust method for region-of-interest-based group-level clustering of independent EEG components. Finally, the BeMoBIL Pipeline provides analytical visualizations at various processing steps, keeping the analysis transparent and allowing for quality checks of the resulting outcomes. All parameters and steps are documented within the data structure and can be fully replicated using the same scripts. This pipeline makes the processing and analysis of (mobile) EEG and body data more reliable and independent of the prior experience of the individual researchers, thus facilitating the use of EEG in general and MoBI in particular. It is an open-source project available for download at https://github.com/BeMoBIL/bemobil-pipeline which allows for community-driven adaptations in the future.

The frequent use of GPS-based navigation assistance is found to negatively affect spatial learning. Displaying landmarks effectively while providing wayfinding instructions on such services could facilitate spatial learning because landmarks help navigators to structure and learn an environment by serving as cognitive anchors. However, simply adding landmarks on mobile maps may tax additional cognitive resources and thus adversely affect cognitive load in mobile map users during navigation. To address this potential issue, we set up the present study experimentally to investigate how the number of landmarks (i.e., 3 vs. 5 vs. 7 landmarks), displayed on a mobile map one at a time at intersections during turn-by-turn instructions, affects spatial learning, cognitive load, and visuospatial encoding during map consultation in a virtual urban environment. Spatial learning of the environment was measured using a landmark recognition test, a route direction test, and Judgements of Relative Directions (JRDs). Cognitive load and visuospatial encoding were assessed using electroencephalography (EEG) by analyzing power modulations in distinct frequency bands as well as peak amplitudes of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Behavioral results demonstrate that landmark and route learning improve when the number of landmarks shown on a mobile map increases from three to five, but that there is no further benefit in spatial learning when depicting seven landmarks. EEG analyses show that relative theta power at fronto-central leads and P3 amplitudes at parieto-occipital leads increase in the seven-landmark condition compared to the three- and five-landmark conditions, likely indicating an increase in cognitive load in the seven-landmark condition. Visuospatial encoding indicated by greater theta ERS and alpha ERD at occipital leads with a greater number of landmarks on mobile maps. We conclude that the number of landmarks visualized when following a route can support spatial learning during map-assisted navigation but with a potential boundary—visualizing landmarks on maps benefits users’ spatial learning only when the number of visualized landmarks shown does not exceed users’ cognitive capacity. These results shed more light on neuronal correlates underlying cognitive load and visuospatial encoding during spatial learning in map-assisted navigation. Our findings also contribute to the design of neuro-adaptive landmark visualization for mobile navigation aids that aim to adapt to users’ cognitive load to optimize their spatial learning in real time.

The impact of varying performance and its effect on the perceived quality is an important aspect of quality of experience. Especially for service providers, it is important to understand how the perceived quality of a user, who is interacting with their services repeatedly, evolves. Repeateduse of a service is actually common for telecommunication services, such as speech telephony. For telecommunication services, it is very likely that a user encounters varying performance, for example due to varying network load conditions. For repeated-use taking place in a usage period covering several days, initial work on the formation process of the so-called multi-episodic perceived quality (i.e., distinct, meaningful interactions, denoted as usage episodes) has been conducted. In this paper, we present our work investigating the multi-episodic perceived quality for usage episodes taking place in one session (i.e., in a time frame of up to 45 min) with a speech telephony service. We investigate two aspects and their impact on the multi-episodic perceived quality: (a) increasing the number of low performance (LP) usage episodes and (b) varying the temporal position of LP usage episodes towards the assessment of multi-episodic perceived quality. Additionally, the impact of the user's behavioral freedom (i.e., two-party conversation vs. 3rd-party listening) on the two investigated aspects is examined. With regard to (a), the results show that an increasing number of LP usage episodes lead to a reduced multi-episodic perceived quality until saturation is reached. No impact of the user's behavioral freedom was found. For (b), an impact of the varied behavioral freedom was observed. Varying the temporal position had an impact on the multi-episodic perceived quality for two-party conversation. For 3rd-party-listening, this could only be observed in one out of two cases.

Abstract. The use of Navigation Assistance Systems for spatial orienting has become increasingly popular. Such automated navigation support, however, comes with a reduced processing of the surrounding environment and often with a decline of spatial orienting ability. To prevent such deskilling and to support spatial learning, the present study investigated incidental spatial learning by comparing standard navigation instructions with two modified navigation instruction conditions. The first modified instruction condition highlighted landmarks and provided additional redundant information regarding the landmark (contrast condition), while the second highlighted landmarks and included personal relevant information regarding the landmark (personal-reference condition). Participants' spatial knowledge of the previously unknown virtual city was tested three weeks later. Behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) data demonstrated enhanced memory performance for participants in the modified navigation instruction conditions without further differentiating between modified instructions. Recognition performance of landmarks was better and the late positive complex of the event-related potential (ERP) revealed amplitude differences reflecting an increased amount of recollected information for modified navigation instructions.The results indicate a significant long-term spatial learning effect when landmarks are highlighted during navigation instructions.

Background. The repeated use of navigation assistance systems leads to decreased spatial orienting abilities. Previous studies demonstrated that augmentation of landmarks using auditory navigation instructions can improve incidental spatial learning when driving on a single route through an unfamiliar environment.Objective. Based on these results, a series of experiments was conducted to further investigate both the impairment of spatial knowledge acquisition by standard navigation instructions and the positive impact of landmark augmentation in auditory navigation instructions on incidental spatial learning.Method. The first Experiment replicated the previous setup in a driving simulator without additional visual route indicators. In a second experiment, spatial knowledge was tested after watching a video depicting assisted navigation along a real-world urban route. Finally, a third Experiment investigated incidental spatial knowledge acquisition when participants actively navigated through an unrestricted real-world, urban environment.Results. All three experiments demonstrated better cued-recall performance for participants navigating with landmark-based auditory navigation instructions as compared to standard instructions. Notably, standard instructions were associated with reduced learning of landmarks at navigation relevant intersections as compared to landmarks alongside straight segments and the recognition of novel landmarks.Conclusion. The results revealed a suppression of spatial learning by established navigation instructions, which were overcome by landmark-based navigation instructions. This emphasizes the positive impact of auditory landmark augmentation on incidental spatial learning and its generalizability to real-life settings.Application. This research is paving the way for navigation assistants that, instead of impairing orienting abilities, incidentally foster spatial learning during every-day navigation.Précis: This series of three experiments replicates the suppression of spatial learning by standard navigation instructions and the positive impact of landmark augmentation in auditory navigation instructions on incidental spatial learning during assisted navigation. Three experiments with growing degree of realism revealed the applicability and generalizability to real-life settings.

Background: Hearing impairments are associated with reduced walking performance under Dual-task (DT) conditions. Little is known about the neural representation of DT performance while walking in this target group compared to healthy controls or younger adults. Therefore, utilizing the Mobile Brain/Body Imaging approach (MoBI), we aim at gaining deeper insights into the brain dynamics underlying the interaction of cognitive and motor processes during different DT conditions (visual and auditory) controlling for age and the potential performance decrements of older adults with hearing impairments.Methods: The cross-sectional study integrates a multifactorial mixed-measure design. Between-subject factors grouping the sample will be age (younger vs. older adults) and hearing impairment (mild vs. not hearing impaired). The within-subject factors will be the task complexity (single- vs. DT) and cognitive task modality (visual vs. auditory). Stimuli of the cognitive task will vary according to the stimulus modality (visual vs. auditory), presentation side (left vs. right), and presentation-response compatibility (ipsilateral vs. contralateral). Analyses of DT costs and underlying neuronal correlates focus either on gait or cognitive performance. Based on an a priori sample size calculation 96 (48 healthy and 48 mildly hearing impaired) community-dwelling older adults (50–70 years) and 48 younger adults (20–30 years) will be recruited. Gait parameters of speed and rhythm will be captured. EEG activity will be recorded using 64 active electrodes.Discussion: The study evaluates cognitive-motor interference (CMI) in groups of young and older adults as well as older adults with hearing impairment. The underlying processes of the interaction between motor and cognitive tasks will be identified at a behavioral and neurophysiological level comparing an auditory or a visual secondary task. We assume that performance differences are linked to different cognitive-motor processes, i.e., stimulus input, resource allocation, and movement execution. Moreover, for the different DT conditions (auditory vs. visual) we assume performance decrements within the auditory condition, especially for older, hearing-impaired adults. Findings will provide evidence of general mechanisms of CMI (ST vs. DT walking) as well as task-specific effects in dual-task performance while over ground walking.