Age differences in spatial memory are mitigated during naturalistic navigation

Abstract

Spatial navigation deficits in older adults are well documented. These findings are based on experimental paradigms that require using a joystick or keyboard to navigate a virtual desktop environment. In the present study, cognitively normal young and older adults navigated in each of two virtual reality (VR) conditions: a desktop VR condition which required using a mouse and keyboard to navigate and an immersive and ambulatory VR condition which permitted unrestricted locomotion. Consistent with past studies, older adults navigated to target locations less precisely than did younger individuals in the desktop condition. These age differences were significantly attenuated when tested in the immersive environment. Additional analyses indicated that older adults showed a preference for route-based search strategies compared to young adults, regardless of condition. These findings suggest that certain aspects of navigation performance in older adults are improved in paradigms that offer a fuller range of enriched and naturalistic cues.

Comparative analysis of spatial ability in immersive and non-immersive virtual reality: the role of sense of presence, simulation sickness and cognitive load

“…Using a Structural Equation Modeling approach, Venkatakrishnan et al (2020) found that increased control over self-motion stimuli in a driver simulation increased cognitive load, increasing SS. Similar tendencies of a positive association have been found by Ha (2020), Meusel (2014), Venkatakrishnan et al (2019), and Venkatakrishnan et al (2023). Evidence also exists for a more nuanced relationship between the relevant variables.…”

“…Further evidence for a non-linear relationship between SS and CL mediated by immersion was found by Breves and Stein (2023), finding CL to associate with higher SS (and SoP) in HMD-mediated VR but not in the 2D condition. Relatedly, Venkatakrishnan (2023) found CL from secondary distractions to be beneficial for reducing SS, underscoring a more non-direct relationship between CL and SS. Sepich et al (2022) suggest that dependent on the VE and task, CL is a significant, but not sole, contributor to SS.…”

Shorter self-reported sleep duration in men is associated with worse virtual spatial navigation performance

“…Additionally, conducting these studies across countries and cultures will help determine the extent to which associations between sleep and navigation performance may differ across different populations, as has been shown for both self-reported sleep duration (Willoughby et al, 2023) and self-reported navigation ability (Walkowiak et al, 2023). Such future studies would also benefit from using a broader range of virtual navigation and spatial memory tests, that extend to real-world environments (Coutrot et al, 2019; He et al, 2021; Hill et al, 2023; Howard et al, 2014; Javadi et al, 2019; Patai et al, 2019). This would be useful to help explore our incidental observation that a higher BMI was associated with worse navigation performance, a finding that mirrors evidence that high BMI is associated with worse episodic memory (Cheke et al 2016).…”

“…Additionally, conducting these studies across countries and cultures will help determine the extent to which associations between sleep and navigation performance may differ across different populations, as has been shown for both self-reported sleep duration 53 and self-reported navigation ability 54 . Such future studies would also benefit from using a broader range of virtual navigation and spatial memory tests, that extend to real-world environments 5,[55][56][57][58][59] .…”

Individuals learning to drive solo before age 18 have superior spatial navigation ability compared with those who learn later

“…Additionally, the participant sample we recruited using prolific may not have been representative of the general population, and so recruiting participants from a wider range of sources would help overcome this issue. Future studies would also benefit from longitudinal designs, given the reciprocal relationship between driving and cognitive function (Choi et al, 2013; Edwards et al, 2008), and use of a broader range of virtual navigation and spatial memory tests that extend to real-world environments (Brown et al, 2010; Burles & Iaria, 2020; Coutrot et al, 2019; He et al, 2021; Hegarty et al, 2006; Hill et al, 2023; Howard et al, 2014; Javadi et al, 2019; Patai et al, 2019; van der Ham et al, 2022). Critically it will be important to examine whether greater spatial cognitive skills predict learning to drive solo, or whether it is the exposure to environment made possible by driving early, or a combination, that predicts later navigation ability.…”