Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls

Consistency of spatial ability performance in children, adolescents, and young adults

Background

Spatial abilities are essential cognitive skills for many aspects of our everyday life that develop substantially throughout childhood and adolescence. While there are numerous measurement tools to evaluate these abilities, many of them have been designed for specific age groups hampering comparability throughout development. Thus, we determined test-retest-reliability and minimal detectable change for a set of tests that evaluate spatial ability performance in their variety in youth and compared them to young adults.

Methods

Children (age: 11.4 ± 0.5 years, n = 26), adolescents (age: 12.5 ± 0.7 years, n = 22), and young adults (age: 26.1 ± 4.0 years, n = 26) performed a set of five spatial ability tests twice, 20 min apart: Paper Folding Test (PFT), Mental Rotation Test (MRT), Water Level Task (WLT), Corsi Block Test (CBT), and Numbered Cones Run (NCR). Relative and absolute test-retest reliability was determined by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC3,1) and the standard error of measurement (SEM), respectively. Further, the minimal detectable change (MDC95%) was calculated to identify clinically relevant changes between repeated measurements.

Results

Irrespective of test, reliability was "excellent" (i.e., ICC3,1 ≥ 0.75) in all age cohorts and the SEM values were rather small. The MDC95% values needed to identify relevant changes in repeated measurements of spatial ability performance ranged between 0.8 and 13.9% in children, 1.1 and 24.5% in adolescents, and 0.7 and 20.8% in young adults.

Conclusion

The determined values indicate that the investigated set of tests is reliable to detect spatial ability performance in healthy children, adolescents, and young adults.

Informal STEM learning: Examples from everyday spatial behaviors

Introduction

Extensive research has shown a close relationship between spatial abilities and success in STEM disciplines because many STEM problems often require students to reason about spatial information. Everyday spatial behaviors may predate and facilitate the development of spatial skills. Therefore, the current study examined children’s everyday spatial behaviors and their associations with broader child development outcomes and individual differences.

Methods

Based on previous research, we developed an everyday spatial behaviors questionnaire for children (ESBQC). A total of 174 parents and their children aged 4–9 years old participated. In ESBQC, parents rated how much difficulty their children experience with different spatial behaviors, such as putting together a puzzle, retracing a route, or hitting a moving ball.

Results

Factor analysis revealed 8 components in ESBQC. The internal reliabilities were relatively high. ESBQC was positively correlated with age but not with sex. Furthermore, ESBQC predicted sense of direction, even after considering age and bias associated with parent reports.

Discussion

Our questionnaire may provide a useful tool for parents and other stakeholders to better understand everyday spatial behaviors and encourage interest and competence in spatial skills, ultimately promoting STEM learning in informal, everyday settings.

Orthographic Depth May Influence the Degree of Severity of Maze Learning Performance in Children at Risk for Reading Disorder

Reading disability (RD), which affects between 5 and 17% of the population worldwide, is the most prevalent form of learning disability, and is associated with underactivation of a universal reading network in children. However, recent research suggests there are differences in learning rates on cognitive predictors of reading performance, as well as differences in activation patterns within the reading neural network, based on orthographic depth (i.e., transparent/shallow vs. deep/opaque orthographies) in children with RD. Recently, we showed that native English-speaking children with RD exhibit impaired performance on a maze learning task that taps into the same neural networks that are activated during reading. In addition, we demonstrated that genetic risk for RD strengthens the relationship between reading impairment and maze learning performance. However, it is unclear whether the results from these studies can be broadly applied to children from other language orthographies. In this study, we examined whether low reading skill was associated with poor maze learning performance in native English-speaking and native German-speaking children, and the influence of genetic risk for RD on cognition and behavior. In addition, we investigated the link between genetic risk and performance on this task in an orthographically diverse sample of children attending an English-speaking international school in Germany. The results from our data suggest that children with low reading skill, or with a genetic risk for reading impairment, exhibit impaired performance on the maze learning task, regardless of orthographic depth. However, these data also suggest that orthographic depth influences the degree of impairment on this task. The maze learning task requires the involvement of various cognitive processes and neural networks that underlie reading, but is not influenced by potential differences in reading experience due to lack of text or oral reporting. As a fully automated tool, it does not require specialized training to administer, and current results suggest it may be a practicable screening tool for early identification of reading impairment across orthographies.

The Development of Human Navigation in Middle Childhood: A Narrative Review through Methods, Terminology, and Fundamental Stages

Spatial orientation and navigation are fundamental abilities in daily life that develop gradually during childhood, although their development is still not clear. The main aim of the present narrative review was to trace the development of navigational skills in middle childhood (6 to 12 years old) by means of studies present in the literature. To this aim, this review took into account the terminology, methodologies, different paradigms, and apparatuses used to investigate egocentric self-centered and allocentric world-centered representations, besides the different types of spaces (reaching/small/large; physical/virtual). Furthermore, this review provided a brief description of the development of navigational strategies and competences in toddlers and preschool children (0–5 years). The main result of this review showed how middle childhood is a crucial period for the improvement and development of allocentric strategies, including metric information. In fact, during this developmental window, children learn to handle proximal and distal cues, to transpose paper and virtual information into real environments, up to performing similarly to adults. This narrative review could represent a starting point to better clarify the development of navigation and spatial orientation, finalized to trace a development curve useful to map normal development and to have a term of comparison to assess performance in atypical development.

Sex Differences in Cognition Across Aging

Sex and gender differences are seen in cognitive disturbances in a variety of neurological and psychiatry diseases. Men are more likely to have cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia whereas women are more likely to have more severe cognitive symptoms with major depressive disorder and Alzheimer's disease. Thus, it is important to understand sex and gender differences in underlying cognitive abilities with and without disease. Sex differences are noted in performance across various cognitive domains - with males typically outperforming females in spatial tasks and females typically outperforming males in verbal tasks. Furthermore, there are striking sex differences in brain networks that are activated during cognitive tasks and in learning strategies. Although rarely studied, there are also sex differences in the trajectory of cognitive aging. It is important to pay attention to these sex differences as they inform researchers of potential differences in resilience to age-related cognitive decline and underlying mechanisms for both healthy and pathological cognitive aging, depending on sex. We review literature on the progressive neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer's disease, as an example of pathological cognitive aging in which human females show greater lifetime risk, neuropathology, and cognitive impairment, compared to human males. Not surprisingly, the relationships between sex and cognition, cognitive aging, and Alzheimer's disease are nuanced and multifaceted. As such, this chapter will end with a discussion of lifestyle factors, like education and diet, as modifiable factors that can alter cognitive aging by sex. Understanding how cognition changes across age and contributing factors, like sex differences, will be essential to improving care for older adults.

Identifying Dyslexia: Link between Maze Learning and Dyslexia Susceptibility Gene, DCDC2, in Young Children

Dyslexia is a common learning disability that affects processing of written language despite adequate intelligence and educational background. If learning disabilities remain untreated, a child may experience long-term social and emotional problems, which influence future success in all aspects of their life. Dyslexia has a 60% heritability rate, and genetic studies have identified multiple dyslexia susceptibility genes (DSGs). DSGs, such as DCDC2, are consistently associated with the risk and severity of reading disability (RD). Altered neural connectivity within temporoparietal regions of the brain is associated with specific variants of DSGs in individuals with RD. Genetically altering DSG expression in mice results in visual and auditory processing deficits as well as neurophysiological and neuroanatomical disruptions. Previously, we demonstrated that learning deficits associated with RD can be translated across species using virtual environments. In this 2-year longitudinal study, we demonstrate that performance on a virtual Hebb-Williams maze in pre-readers is able to predict future reading impairment, and the genetic risk strengthens, but is not dependent on, this relationship. Due to the lack of oral reporting and use of letters, this easy-to-use tool may be particularly valuable in a remote working environment as well as working with vulnerable populations such as English language learners.

Path Learning in Individuals With Down Syndrome: The Challenge of Learning Condition and Cognitive Abilities

Analyzing navigational abilities and related aspects in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is of considerable interest because of its relevance to everyday life. This study investigates path learning, the conditions favoring it, and the cognitive abilities involved. A group of 30 adults with DS and 32 typically-developing (TD) children matched on receptive vocabulary were shown a 4 × 4 Floor Matrix and asked to repeat increasingly long sequences of steps by walking on the grid. The sequences were presented under two learning conditions, one called Oral instructions (participants received verbal instructions such as “turn right” or “turn left”), the other Observation (participants watched the experimenter's moves). Participants were also assessed on verbal and visuospatial cognitive measures. The results showed a similarly better performance in both groups when the Floor Matrix task was administered in the Observation as opposed to the Oral instructions condition. As for the relation with cognitive abilities, in the Floor Matrix task in the Oral instructions condition, individuals with DS showed an effect of both verbal and visuospatial abilities, which was only positive for verbal ability. The effect of verbal and visuospatial abilities was negligible in the TD group. In the Observation condition, performance was predicted by sequential working memory in both groups. Overall, these results shed light on path learning in individuals with DS, showing that they benefited from the Observation condition, and that the involvement of their cognitive abilities depended on the learning condition.

Spatial Reference Frame but Neither Age nor Gender Predict Performance on a Water-Level Task in 8- to 11-Year-Old Children

Successful performance on the water-level task, a common measure of spatial perception, requires adopting an environmental, rather than object-centered, spatial frame of reference. Use of this strategy has not been systematically studied in prepubertal children, a developmental period during which individual differences in spatial abilities start to emerge. In this study, children aged 8 to 11 reported their age and gender, completed a paper-and-pencil water-level task, and drew a map of their neighborhood to assess spontaneous choice of spatial frame of reference. Results showed a surprising lack of age or gender difference in water-level performance, but a significant effect of spatial frame of reference. Although they made up only a small portion of the sample, children who drew allocentric maps had the highest water-level score, with very high accuracy. These results suggest that children who adopt environmental-based reference frames when depicting their familiar environment may also use environmental-based reference frame strategies to solve spatial perception tasks, thereby facilitating highly accurate performance.

Intact wayfinding abilities in patients with Parkinson's disease

Introduction

Previous studies have found that patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) showed impairments in certain aspects of spatial orientation. The current study aimed to systematically investigate whether these impairments extend to wayfinding abilities in patients with PD. Wayfinding refers to the ability to navigate to an unseen location in the environment and is essential to one's everyday functioning.

Methods

A total of 24 patients with PD, 20 ability matched controls, 21 college students participated in a series of experimental behavioral tasks and a self-report of environmental abilities. In the route learning task, participants learned and then recalled routes. In the survey learning task, participants were asked to form configurational or survey knowledge. In the map tracing tack, participants were asked to trace the turning directions of a route on a map.

Results

Patients with PD showed no impairments in the behavioral measures of wayfinding relative to ability matched controls. Both groups performed worse than college students, who had higher cognitive levels. Patients with PD, however, reported a higher competency in environmental abilities than college students.

Conclusion

Although wayfinding abilities may decrease as cognitive abilities decline, they do not appear as a unique impairment for patients with PD relative to their cognitive level.

Path Learning in Individuals With Down Syndrome: The Floor Matrix Task and the Role of Individual Visuo-Spatial Measures

Environment learning is essential in everyday life. In individuals with Down syndrome (DS), this skill has begun to be examined using virtual exploration. Previous studies showed that individuals with DS can learn and remember paths in terms of sequences of turns and straight stretches, albeit with some difficulty, and this learning is supported by their cognitive abilities. This study further investigates environment learning in the DS population, newly examining their ability to learn a path from actual movements, and to learn increasingly long paths, and how their performance relates to their visuo-spatial abilities and everyday spatial activities. A group of 30 individuals with DS and 30 typically-developing (TD) children matched for receptive vocabulary performed a 4 × 4 Floor Matrix task in a grid comprising 16 squares (total area 2.3 × 2.3 meters). The task involved repeating increasingly long sequences of steps by actually moving in the grid. The sequences were presented in two learning conditions, called Observation (when participants watched the experimenter’s moves), or Map (when they were shown a map reproducing the path). Several visuo-spatial measures were also administered. The results showed a clear difference between the two groups’ performance in the individual visuo-spatial measures. In the Floor Matrix task, after controlling for visuo-spatial reasoning ability, both groups benefited to the same degree from the Observation condition vis-à-vis the Map condition, and no group differences emerged. In the group with DS, visuo-spatial abilities were more predictive of performance in the Floor Matrix task in the Observation condition than in the Map condition. The same was true of the TD group, but this difference was much less clear-cut. The visuo-spatial working memory and visualization tasks were the strongest predictors of Floor Matrix task performance. Finally, the group with DS showed a significant relation between Floor Matrix task performance in the Observation condition and everyday spatial activity. These results enlarge on what we know about path learning in individuals with DS and its relation to their visuo-spatial abilities. These findings are discussed within the frame of spatial cognition and the atypical development domain.

Navigation and perception of spatial layout in virtual echo-acoustic space

Successful navigation involves finding the way, planning routes, and avoiding collisions. Whilst previous research has shown that people can navigate using non-visual cues, it is not clear to what degree learned non-visual navigational abilities generalise to 'new' environments. Furthermore, the ability to successfully avoid collisions has not been investigated separately from the ability to perceive spatial layout or to orient oneself in space. Here, we address these important questions using a virtual echolocation paradigm in sighted people. Fourteen sighted blindfolded participants completed 20 virtual navigation training sessions over the course of 10 weeks. In separate sessions, before and after training, we also tested their ability to perceive the spatial layout of virtual echo-acoustic space. Furthermore, three blind echolocation experts completed the tasks without training, thus validating our virtual echo-acoustic paradigm. We found that over the course of 10 weeks sighted people became better at navigating, i.e. they reduced collisions and time needed to complete the route, and increased success rates. This also generalised to 'new' (i.e. untrained) virtual spaces. In addition, after training, their ability to judge spatial layout was better than before training. The data suggest that participants acquired a 'true' sensory driven navigational ability using echo-acoustics. In addition, we show that people not only developed navigational skills related to avoidance of collisions and finding safe passage, but also processes related to spatial perception and orienting. In sum, our results provide strong support for the idea that navigation is a skill which people can achieve via various modalities, here: echolocation.

Virtual reality in episodic memory research: A review

Although virtual reality (VR) is a promising tool for the investigation of episodic memory phenomena, to date there has been relatively little examination of how learning mechanisms operate in VR and how these processes might compare (or contrast) with learning that occurs in real life. Moreover, the existing literature on this topic is spread across several disciplines and uses various distinct apparatuses, thus obscuring whether the differences that exist between studies might be due to genuine theoretical discrepancies or may be more simply explained by accounting for methodological variations. The current review is designed to address and elucidate several issues relevant to psychological researchers interested in understanding and/or using this technological approach to study episodic memory phenomena. The principle objectives of the review are as follows: (a) defining and discussing the various VR systems currently used for research purposes, (b) compiling research of episodic memory effects in VR as they have been studied across several disciplines, and (c) surveying major topics in this body of literature (e.g., how virtual immersion has an impact on memory; transfer effects from VR to the real world). The content of this review is designed to serve as a resource for psychologists interested in learning more about the current state of research in this field and is intended to highlight the capabilities (and constraints) associated with using this technological approach in episodic memory research.

Spatial orientation assessment in preschool children: Egocentric and allocentric frameworks

Spatial orientation is an important function in daily life because it allows us to reach a target place when moving through our environment, using self-centered (egocentric) or environmental information (allocentric). Compared to other cognitive functions, spatial orientation has been studied less in preschool ages. Some brain areas, such as the hippocampus and the temporal as well as the parietal and frontal cortices, are involved in spatial orientation. Therefore, when these brain regions are altered in neurological conditions or in atypical development in children, we would expect impairment of spatial abilities. The aim of this study is to review studies, published in recent years, that use egocentric and allocentric spatial orientation tasks for assessing spatial memory in preschool children, with the final goal of finding out which tests could be included in a clinical neuropsychological evaluation. We observed that although egocentric spatial orientation emerges first during development, allocentric spatial orientation tasks are employed at very early ages. Most of these tasks are performed in real environments, allowing children's self-movements and using environmental modifications, but technologies such as virtual or augmented reality are increasingly used. Other aspects are discussed, such as the lack of consensus in the nomenclature, the difficulty of tracing the course of development of spatial orientation, or the ecological validity of the tests used. We finally observed that there is greater interest in studying the allocentric framework than the egocentric one, which makes it difficult to compare the use of the two frames of reference during a neuropsychological evaluation in preschool-aged children.

Gender Differences in Large-Scale and Small-Scale Spatial Ability: A Systematic Review Based on Behavioral and Neuroimaging Research

Background: As we human beings are living in a multidimensional space all the time. Therefore, spatial ability is vital for the survival and development of individuals. However, males and females show gender differences in this ability. So, are these gender differences influenced by the scale type of spatial ability? It's not well specified. Therefore, to tackle this issue, we conducted the current research from the behavioral and neural level. Methods: Study 1 used the general meta-analysis method to explore whether individuals display the same gender differences in large- and small-scale spatial ability. Study 2 used the method of Activation Likelihood Estimation to identify the commonalities and distinctions of the brain activity between males and females on large- and small-scale spatial ability. Results: Study 1 showed that in behavior performance, males outperformed females in both large-scale and small-scale spatial ability, but the effect size of the gender difference in large-scale spatial ability is significantly greater than that in small-scale spatial ability. In addition, Study 2 showed that in terms of neural activity, males and females exhibited both similarities and differences no matter in large-scale or small-scale spatial ability. Especially, the contrast analysis between females and males demonstrated a stronger activation in the brain regions of bilateral lentiform nucleus and bilateral parahippocampal gyrus in large-scale spatial ability, and correspondence in right sub-gyral, right precuneus, and left middle frontal gyrus in small-scale spatial ability. Conclusions: The results indicated that the reason why females performed not so well in large-scale spatial ability was that they were more susceptible to emotions and their parahippocampal gyrus worked less efficiently than males; females performed not so well in small-scale spatial ability because they mostly adopted the egocentric strategy and their sub-gyral also worked less efficiently than males. The two different reasons have made for gender differences in favor of males in terms of spatial ability and such gender differences have different manifestations in large-scale and small-scale spatial ability. Possible implications of the results for understanding the issue of gender differences in spatial ability are discussed.

Boy-Girl Differences in Pictorial Verbal Learning in Students Aged 8-12 Years and the Influence of Parental Education

This large-scale cross-sectional study of schoolchildren aged 8–12 years (N = 152) evaluates two factors which potentially determine individual differences in intentional learning: the child’s sex and parental education. Intentional learning was assessed with a newly constructed Pictorial Verbal Learning Task (PVLT). This task presents line drawings of concrete objects as to-be-remembered information instead of written or auditory presented words. The PVLT has the advantage that performance is not confounded by individual differences in reading or hearing abilities. Results revealed clear sex differences in performance: Girls outperformed boys. Parental education also contributed to individual differences in performance since children of higher educated parents outperformed children of lower educated parents. The results therefore suggest that both sex and parental education could be potent contributors to individual differences in learning performance at school. The findings more specifically imply that children of less educated parents and boys need additional guidance and support in intentional learning when new information and procedures are presented for the first time.

A Virtual Object-Location Task for Children: Gender and Videogame Experience Influence Navigation; Age Impacts Memory and Completion Time

The use of virtual reality-based tasks for studying memory has increased considerably. Most of the studies that have looked at child population factors that influence performance on such tasks have been focused on cognitive variables. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of non-cognitive skills. In the present paper, we tested 52 typically-developing children aged 5–12 years in a virtual object-location task. The task assessed their spatial short-term memory for the location of three objects in a virtual city. The virtual task environment was presented using a 3D application consisting of a 120″ stereoscopic screen and a gamepad interface. Measures of learning and displacement indicators in the virtual environment, 3D perception, satisfaction, and usability were obtained. We assessed the children’s videogame experience, their visuospatial span, their ability to build blocks, and emotional and behavioral outcomes. The results indicate that learning improved with age. Significant effects on the speed of navigation were found favoring boys and those more experienced with videogames. Visuospatial skills correlated mainly with ability to recall object positions, but the correlation was weak. Longer paths were related with higher scores of withdrawal behavior, attention problems, and a lower visuospatial span. Aggressiveness and experience with the device used for interaction were related with faster navigation. However, the correlations indicated only weak associations among these variables.

Mental rotation ability and everyday-life spatial activities in individuals with Down syndrome

Although certain visuospatial abilities, such as mental rotation, are crucially important in everyday activities, they have been little explored in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). This study investigates: i) mental rotation ability in individuals with DS; and ii) its relation to cognitive abilities and to everyday spatial activities. Forty-eight individuals with DS and 48 typically-developing (TD) children, matched on measures of vocabulary and fluid intelligence, were compared on their performance in a rotation task that involved detecting which of two figures would fit into a hole if rotated (five angles of rotation were considered: 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°). Participants were also assessed on their visuospatial and verbal cognitive abilities, and on their parents and/or educators reports regarding their everyday spatial activities. Results showed that: (i) individuals with DS were less accurate in mental rotation than TD children, with larger differences between the groups for smaller angles of rotation; individuals with DS could not mentally rotate through 180°, while TD children could; (ii) mental rotation ability was related to fluid intelligence and to spatial activities (though other cognitive abilities are also involved in the latter) to a similar degree in the DS group and the matched TD children. These results are discussed with regard to the atypical development domain and spatial cognition models.

Sex Differences in Gray Matter Volume of the Right Anterior Hippocampus Explain Sex Differences in Three-Dimensional Mental Rotation

Behavioral studies have reported that males perform better than females in 3-dimensional (3D) mental rotation. Given the important role of the hippocampus in spatial processing, the present study investigated whether structural differences in the hippocampus could explain the sex difference in 3D mental rotation. Results showed that after controlling for brain size, males had a larger anterior hippocampus, whereas females had a larger posterior hippocampus. Gray matter volume (GMV) of the right anterior hippocampus was significantly correlated with 3D mental rotation score. After controlling GMV of the right anterior hippocampus, sex difference in 3D mental rotation was no longer significant. These results suggest that the structural difference between males’ and females’ right anterior hippocampus was a neurobiological substrate for the sex difference in 3D mental rotation.