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Ottink L, de Haas N, Doeller CF. Integration of Euclidean and path distances in hippocampal maps. Sci Rep 2025; 15:7104. [PMID: 40016304 PMCID: PMC11868619 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-90504-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2025] [Indexed: 03/01/2025] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus is a key region for forming mental maps of our environment. These maps represent spatial information such as distances between landmarks. A cognitive map can allow for flexible inference of spatial relationships that have never been directly experienced before. Previous work has shown that the human hippocampus encodes distances between locations, but it is unclear how Euclidean and path distances are distinguished. In this study, participants performed an object-location task in a virtual environment. We combined functional magnetic resonance imaging with representational similarity analysis to test how Euclidean and path distances are represented in the hippocampus. We observe that hippocampal neural pattern similarity for objects scales with distance between object locations, and suggest that the hippocampus integrates Euclidean and path distances. One key characteristic of cognitive maps is their adaptive and flexible nature. We therefore subsequently modified path distances between objects using roadblocks in the environment. We found that hippocampal pattern similarity between objects adapted as a function of these changes in path distance, selectively in route learners but not in map learners. Taken together, our study supports the idea that the hippocampus creates integrative and flexible cognitive maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loes Ottink
- Donders Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Naomi de Haas
- Donders Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Christian F Doeller
- Donders Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Psychology Department, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Kavli Insitute for Systems Neuroscience, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
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Szubielska M, Kędziora W, Augustynowicz P, Picard D. Drawing as a tool for investigating the nature of imagery representations of blind people: The case of the canonical size phenomenon. Mem Cognit 2025; 53:175-188. [PMID: 37985536 PMCID: PMC11779753 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01491-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Several studies have shown that blind people, including those with congenital blindness, can use raised-line drawings, both for "reading" tactile graphics and for drawing unassisted. However, research on drawings produced by blind people has mainly been qualitative. The current experimental study was designed to investigate the under-researched issue of the size of drawings created by people with blindness. Participants (N = 59) varied in their visual status. Adventitiously blind people had previous visual experience and might use visual representations (e.g., when visualising objects in imagery/working memory). Congenitally blind people did not have any visual experience. The participant's task was to draw from memory common objects that vary in size in the real world. The findings revealed that both groups of participants produced larger drawings of objects that have larger actual sizes. This means that the size of familiar objects is a property of blind people's mental representations, regardless of their visual status. Our research also sheds light on the nature of the phenomenon of canonical size. Since we have found the canonical size effect in a group of people who are blind from birth, the assumption of the visual nature of this phenomenon - caused by the ocular-centric biases present in studies on drawing performance - should be revised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Szubielska
- Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950, Lublin, Poland.
| | | | - Paweł Augustynowicz
- Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950, Lublin, Poland
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Pacheco-Barrios K, Ortega-Márquez J, Fregni F. Haptic Technology: Exploring Its Underexplored Clinical Applications-A Systematic Review. Biomedicines 2024; 12:2802. [PMID: 39767709 PMCID: PMC11673350 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12122802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2024] [Revised: 12/05/2024] [Accepted: 12/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/11/2025] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Haptic technology has transformed interactions between humans and both tangible and virtual environments. Despite its widespread adoption across various industries, the potential therapeutic applications of this technology have yet to be fully explored. METHODS A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and randomized crossover trials was conducted, utilizing databases such as PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. This review included studies reporting clinical applications of haptic technology in rehabilitation, cognition, wellness, and mental health among adult subjects. RESULTS This systematic review included 34 studies, of which 20 focused on clinical outcomes and 14 on learning clinical skills. The results showed that haptic devices, both robotic and non-robotic, enhance sensorimotor performance and motor function in rehabilitation settings, especially in post-stroke recovery, with reported effect sizes ranging from 0.2 to 0.7. The majority of the haptic technologies reported were integrated into robotic systems (40%). Haptic devices were also reported to improve clinical skills training by providing tactile feedback that enhances procedural performance and trainee self-efficacy. In fact, surgical simulations accounted for 79% of all the modalities used for medical training. CONCLUSIONS This review underscores the potential yet underexplored applications of haptic technology in healthcare, including medical education, rehabilitation, cognition, and mental health. The key limitations of this review include heterogeneity across studies, small sample sizes, and a scarcity of comprehensive, long-term investigations. Therefore, future research should aim to validate these findings further and expand the applications of haptic technology to maximize its utility in the healthcare industry and clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Pacheco-Barrios
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (K.P.-B.); (J.O.-M.)
- Unidad de Investigación para la Generación y Síntesis de Evidencias en Salud, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima 15023, Peru
| | - Jorge Ortega-Márquez
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (K.P.-B.); (J.O.-M.)
| | - Felipe Fregni
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (K.P.-B.); (J.O.-M.)
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Pastor A, Bourdin-Kreitz P. Comparing episodic memory outcomes from walking augmented reality and stationary virtual reality encoding experiences. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7580. [PMID: 38555291 PMCID: PMC10981735 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57668-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Episodic Memory (EM) is the neurocognitive capacity to consciously recollect personally experienced events in specific spatio-temporal contexts. Although the relevance of spatial and temporal information is widely acknowledged in the EM literature, it remains unclear whether and how EM performance and organisation is modulated by self-motion, and by motor- and visually- salient environmental features (EFs) of the encoding environment. This study examines whether and how EM is modulated by locomotion and the EFs encountered in a controlled lifelike learning route within a large-scale building. Twenty-eight healthy participants took part in a museum-tour encoding task implemented in walking Augmented Reality (AR) and stationary Virtual Reality (VR) conditions. EM performance and organisation were assessed immediately and 48-hours after trials using a Remember/Familiar recognition paradigm. Results showed a significant positive modulation effect of locomotion on distinctive EM aspects. Findings highlighted a significant performance enhancement effect of stairway-adjacent locations compared to dead-end and mid-route stimuli-presentation locations. The results of this study may serve as design criteria to facilitate neurocognitive rehabilitative interventions of EM. The underlying technological framework developed for this study represents a novel and ecologically sound method for evaluating EM processes in lifelike situations, allowing researchers a naturalistic perspective into the complex nature of EM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro Pastor
- XR-Lab, Research-HUB, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunication Department, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pierre Bourdin-Kreitz
- XR-Lab, Research-HUB, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
- Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunication Department, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
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Iggena D, Jeung S, Maier PM, Ploner CJ, Gramann K, Finke C. Multisensory input modulates memory-guided spatial navigation in humans. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1167. [PMID: 37963986 PMCID: PMC10646091 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05522-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Efficient navigation is supported by a cognitive map of space. The hippocampus plays a key role for this map by linking multimodal sensory information with spatial memory representations. However, in human navigation studies, the full range of sensory information is often unavailable due to the stationarity of experimental setups. We investigated the contribution of multisensory information to memory-guided spatial navigation by presenting a virtual version of the Morris water maze on a screen and in an immersive mobile virtual reality setup. Patients with hippocampal lesions and matched controls navigated to memorized object locations in relation to surrounding landmarks. Our results show that availability of multisensory input improves memory-guided spatial navigation in both groups. It has distinct effects on navigational behaviour, with greater improvement in spatial memory performance in patients. We conclude that congruent multisensory information shifts computations to extrahippocampal areas that support spatial navigation and compensates for spatial navigation deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deetje Iggena
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Neurology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany.
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Sein Jeung
- Technische Universität Berlin, Department of Biological Psychology and Neuroergonomics, Fasanenstraße 1, 10623, Berlin, Germany
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Olav Kyrres gate 9,7030, Trondheim, Norway
- Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Patrizia M Maier
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Neurology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christoph J Ploner
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Neurology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
| | - Klaus Gramann
- Technische Universität Berlin, Department of Biological Psychology and Neuroergonomics, Fasanenstraße 1, 10623, Berlin, Germany
- University of California, San Diego, Center for Advanced Neurological Engineering, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Carsten Finke
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Neurology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany
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Bleau M, van Acker C, Martiniello N, Nemargut JP, Ptito M. Cognitive map formation in the blind is enhanced by three-dimensional tactile information. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9736. [PMID: 37322150 PMCID: PMC10272191 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36578-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
For blind individuals, tactile maps are useful tools to form cognitive maps through touch. However, they still experience challenges in cognitive map formation and independent navigation. Three-dimensional (3D) tactile information is thus increasingly being considered to convey enriched spatial information, but it remains unclear if it can facilitate cognitive map formation compared to traditional two-dimensional (2D) tactile information. Consequently, the present study investigated the impact of the type of sensory input (tactile 2D vs. tactile 3D vs. a visual control condition) on cognitive map formation. To do so, early blind (EB, n = 13), late blind (LB, n = 12), and sighted control (SC, n = 14) participants were tasked to learn the layouts of mazes produced with different sensory information (tactile 2D vs. tactile 3D vs. visual control) and to infer routes from memory. Results show that EB manifested stronger cognitive map formation with 3D mazes, LB performed equally well with 2D and 3D tactile mazes, and SC manifested equivalent cognitive map formation with visual and 3D tactile mazes but were negatively impacted by 2D tactile mazes. 3D tactile maps therefore have the potential to improve spatial learning for EB and newly blind individuals through a reduction of cognitive overload. Installation of 3D tactile maps in public spaces should be considered to promote universal accessibility and reduce blind individuals' wayfinding deficits related to the inaccessibility of spatial information through non-visual means.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Bleau
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Camille van Acker
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Institut Royal Pour Sourds et Aveugles, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | | | - Maurice Ptito
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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Paratore MT, Leporini B. Exploiting the haptic and audio channels to improve orientation and mobility apps for the visually impaired. UNIVERSAL ACCESS IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY 2023:1-11. [PMID: 36846828 PMCID: PMC9942617 DOI: 10.1007/s10209-023-00973-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Orientation and mobility apps for visually impaired people are well known to be effective in improving the quality of life for this target group. A mobile application that guides a visually impaired person step-by-step through a physical space is a valuable aid, but it does not provide an overview of a complex environment "at a glance," as a traditional hard-copy tactile map does. The aim of this study is to investigate whether a smartphone GPS map, enriched with haptic and audio hints, can facilitate cognitive mapping for visually impaired users. Encouraged by a preliminary study conducted in co-operation with two visually impaired volunteers, we designed and developed an Android prototype for exploration of an urban area. Our goal was to provide an affordable, portable and versatile solution to help users increase awareness of an environment through the positions of its landmarks and points of interest. Vibro-tactile and audio hints were linked to the coordinates on the map via the GeoJSON data format and were issued exploiting the text-to-speech and vibration features of the mobile device, as they were displayed through the operating system's APIs. Test sessions and interviews with visually impaired users produced encouraging results. Results, to be verified by more extensive testing, overall confirm the validity of our approach and are in line with results found in the literature.
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Bleau M, Paré S, Chebat DR, Kupers R, Nemargut JP, Ptito M. Neural substrates of spatial processing and navigation in blindness: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1010354. [PMID: 36340755 PMCID: PMC9630591 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1010354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Even though vision is considered the best suited sensory modality to acquire spatial information, blind individuals can form spatial representations to navigate and orient themselves efficiently in space. Consequently, many studies support the amodality hypothesis of spatial representations since sensory modalities other than vision contribute to the formation of spatial representations, independently of visual experience and imagery. However, given the high variability in abilities and deficits observed in blind populations, a clear consensus about the neural representations of space has yet to be established. To this end, we performed a meta-analysis of the literature on the neural correlates of spatial processing and navigation via sensory modalities other than vision, like touch and audition, in individuals with early and late onset blindness. An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analysis of the neuroimaging literature revealed that early blind individuals and sighted controls activate the same neural networks in the processing of non-visual spatial information and navigation, including the posterior parietal cortex, frontal eye fields, insula, and the hippocampal complex. Furthermore, blind individuals also recruit primary and associative occipital areas involved in visuo-spatial processing via cross-modal plasticity mechanisms. The scarcity of studies involving late blind individuals did not allow us to establish a clear consensus about the neural substrates of spatial representations in this specific population. In conclusion, the results of our analysis on neuroimaging studies involving early blind individuals support the amodality hypothesis of spatial representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Bleau
- École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Samuel Paré
- École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Daniel-Robert Chebat
- Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (VCN Lab), Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
- Navigation and Accessibility Research Center of Ariel University (NARCA), Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
| | - Ron Kupers
- École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Institute of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Maurice Ptito
- École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- *Correspondence: Maurice Ptito,
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