A computerized spatial orientation test

How is GPS used? Understanding navigation system use and its relation to spatial ability

Given how commonly GPS is now used in everyday navigation, it is surprising how little research has been dedicated to investigating variations in its use and how such variations may relate to navigation ability. The present study investigated general GPS dependence, how people report using GPS in various navigational scenarios, and the relationship between these measures and spatial abilities (assessed by self-report measures and the ability to learn the layout of a novel environment). GPS dependence is an individual's perceived need to use GPS in navigation, and GPS usage is the frequency with which they report using different functions of GPS. The study also assessed whether people modulate reported use of GPS as a function of their familiarity with the location in which they are navigating. In 249 participants over two preregistered studies, reported GPS dependence was negatively correlated with objective navigation performance and self-reported sense of direction, and positively correlated with spatial anxiety. Greater reported use of GPS for turn-by-turn directions was associated with a poorer sense of direction and higher spatial anxiety. People reported using GPS most frequently for time and traffic estimation, regardless of ability. Finally, people reported using GPS less, regardless of ability, when they were more familiar with an environment. Collectively these findings suggest that people moderate their use of GPS, depending on their knowledge, ability, and confidence in their own abilities, and often report using GPS to augment rather than replace spatial environmental knowledge.

Heart rate and breathing effects on attention and memory (HeartBEAM): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial in older adults

BACKGROUND

In healthy people, the "fight-or-flight" sympathetic system is counterbalanced by the "rest-and-digest" parasympathetic system. As we grow older, the parasympathetic system declines as the sympathetic system becomes hyperactive. In our prior heart rate variability biofeedback and emotion regulation (HRV-ER) clinical trial, we found that increasing parasympathetic activity through daily practice of slow-paced breathing significantly decreased plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) in healthy younger and older adults. In healthy adults, higher plasma Aβ is associated with greater risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our primary goal of this trial is to reproduce and extend our initial findings regarding effects of slow-paced breathing on Aβ. Our secondary objectives are to examine the effects of daily slow-paced breathing on brain structure and the rate of learning.

METHODS

Adults aged 50-70 have been randomized to practice one of two breathing protocols twice daily for 9 weeks: (1) "slow-paced breathing condition" involving daily cognitive training followed by slow-paced breathing designed to maximize heart rate oscillations or (2) "random-paced breathing condition" involving daily cognitive training followed by random-paced breathing to avoid increasing heart rate oscillations. The primary outcomes are plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 levels and plasma Aβ42/40 ratio. The secondary outcomes are brain perivascular space volume, hippocampal volume, and learning rates measured by cognitive training performance. Other pre-registered outcomes include plasma pTau-181/tTau ratio and urine Aβ42. Recruitment began in January 2023. Interventions are ongoing and will be completed by the end of 2023.

DISCUSSION

Our HRV-ER trial was groundbreaking in demonstrating that a behavioral intervention can reduce plasma Aβ levels relative to a randomized control group. We aim to reproduce these findings while testing effects on brain clearance pathways and cognition.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05602220. Registered on January 12, 2023.

Stress affects navigation strategies in immersive virtual reality

There are known individual differences in both the ability to learn the layout of novel environments and the flexibility of strategies for navigating known environments. However, it is unclear how navigational abilities are impacted by high-stress scenarios. Here we used immersive virtual reality (VR) to develop a novel behavioral paradigm to examine navigation under dynamically changing situations. We recruited 48 participants (24 female; ages 17-32) to navigate a virtual maze (7.5 m × 7.5 m). Participants learned the maze by moving along a fixed path past the maze's landmarks (paintings). Subsequently, participants experienced either a non-stress condition, or a high-stress condition tasking them with navigating the maze. In the high-stress condition, their initial path was blocked, the environment was darkened, threatening music was played, fog obstructed more distal views of the environment, and participants were given a time limit of 20 s with a countdown timer displayed at the top of their screen. On trials where the path was blocked, we found self-reported stress levels and distance traveled increased while trial completion rate decreased (as compared to non-stressed control trials). On unblocked stress trials, participants were less likely to take a shortcut and consequently navigated less efficiently compared to control trials. Participants with more trait spatial anxiety reported more stress and navigated less efficiently. Overall, our results suggest that navigational abilities change considerably under high-stress conditions.

Does Hearing Impairment Impact Spatial Orientation, Navigation, and Rotation Abilities?

OBJECTIVES

Spatial cognition is a perceptual-motor function that pertains to the comprehension and processing of two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. The impairment of any sensory system can have adverse effects on cognitive functioning. The objective of this study is to examine spatial cognition in adults with hearing impairments.

METHODS

There were a total of 61 individuals in this study: thirty-six with hearing loss and 25 with normal hearing. The Spatial Orientation Test (SOT), the Mental Rotation test (MR), and the Money's Road Map Test (RMT) were administered to assess participants' spatial learning-orientation, mental imagery-rotation, and spatial navigation abilities. A high number of errors in RMT, high angle difference in SOT and a low score in MR suggest poor spatial abilities.

RESULTS

Participants with hearing loss had a greater number of RMT errors and SOT angle difference, but lower MR scores than those with normal hearing (P < .001). Hearing impairment negatively impacted all 3 spatial cognitive assessments. Hearing loss was associated with a 6.9 increase in the number of RMT errors (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 4.8, 9), a 23.6 increase in the SOT angle difference (95% CI: 16, 31.2), and an 8.5 decrease in the MR score (95% CI: -10.8, -6.2).

CONCLUSIONS

The study found that individuals with hearing loss exhibited lower performance in various cognitive tasks related to spatial orientation, navigation, spatial learning, mental imagery, and rotation abilities when compared to an age and sex matched control group. In future study, it is imperative to place greater emphasis on hearing loss as a potential detrimental factor in the prediction of spatial cognition impairment.

Components of navigation ability and their predictors in a community-dwelling sample of older adults

Introduction: Navigation, as a complex skill important for independent living, requires a variety of cognitive processes. Current scales tapping components are lengthy and can be burdensome for older adults. Methods: Community-dwelling older adults (n = 380, age 60-90 years) completed an online survey tapping wayfinding, being lost navigating, and needing help navigating. Participants then completed objective measures of navigation ability and self-reported memory ability. Cronbach's α was calculated for navigation subscales consisting of subsets of the Wayfinding Questionnaire and Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Questionnaire, and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted. Regression analyses were used to test whether objective navigation, memory, and demographic information navigation predicted navigation subscale performance. Results: Each of the individual subscales demonstrated high reliability. EFA generated five unique factors: routing, mental mapping, navigation in near vicinities, feeling lost in far vicinities, and needing help in far vicinities. Across regression analyses, memory, gender, and performance on the Spatial Orientation Test were significant predictors. Discussion: Navigation is a multi-faceted construct that can be reliably measured using concise surveys. Further research is necessary to understand the intricacies of aging and navigation.

Individual Differences in Spatial Orientation Modulate Perspective Taking in Listeners

Previous research suggests that individuals exhibit consistent tendencies towards taking their own (an egocentric) or their partner's (an othercentric) spatial perspective. In addition, several factors such as spatial orientation ability, inhibitory control, and social preferences, have been found to mediate these perspective taking tendencies. However, these factors have not been studied together in the context of a single task. The present study explores these individual differences together in spatial perspective taking, using a task of simulated interaction in which listeners can choose to interpret an ambiguous spatial utterance egocentrically or othercentrically. We use a data-driven approach of latent profile analysis to classify participants into subgroups based on their spatial perspective taking tendencies. Our results show that stable subgroups of participants can be identified who differ in their perspective taking tendencies. This behaviour also correlates with a measure of listeners' spatial orientation ability, but not their inhibitory control or social preferences. Our results can be interpreted within a framework that views spatial perspective taking as an embodied cognitive process of a mental reorientation of the self relative to the environment, providing insight on the nature of the mechanisms underlying this operation.

Measuring Spatial Perspective Taking: Analysis of Four Measures Using Item Response Theory

Research on spatial thinking requires reliable and valid measures of individual differences in various component skills. Spatial perspective taking (PT)-the ability to represent viewpoints different from one's own-is one kind of spatial skill that is especially relevant to navigation. This study had two goals. First, the psychometric properties of four PT tests were examined: Four Mountains Task (FMT), Spatial Orientation Task (SOT), Perspective-Taking Task for Adults (PTT-A), and Photographic Perspective-Taking Task (PPTT). Using item response theory (IRT), item difficulty, discriminability, and efficiency of item information functions were evaluated. Second, the relation of PT scores to general intelligence, working memory, and mental rotation (MR) was assessed. All tasks showed good construct validity except for FMT. PPTT tapped a wide range of PT ability, with maximum measurement precision at average ability. PTT-A captured a lower range of ability. Although SOT contributed less measurement information than other tasks, it did well across a wide range of PT ability. After controlling for general intelligence and working memory, original and IRT-refined versions of PT tasks were each related to MR. PTT-A and PPTT showed relatively more divergent validity from MR than SOT. Tests of dimensionality indicated that PT tasks share one common PT dimension, with secondary task-specific factors also impacting the measurement of individual differences in performance. Advantages and disadvantages of a hybrid PT test that includes a combination of items across tasks are discussed.

Random walk: Random number generation during backward and forward walking- the role of aging

Deficits in executive function, visuospatial abilities, and cognitive embodiment may impair gait performance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of age on random number generation (RNG) performance during forward and backward locomotion to assess cognitive flexibility and cognitive embodiment during walking. Another aim was to examine the effect of age on the associations of RNG performance during walking with stride time variability (STV), the percentage of double support (DS%), and visuospatial abilities as measured by a spatial orientation test (SOT). Twenty old (age 68.8 ± 5.3, 65% female) and 20 young (age 25.2 ± 2.2, 45% female) adults generated random numbers during backward walking (BW) and forward walking (FW) over-ground and over a treadmill with an internal focus of attention and visual-attentive distraction; six walking conditions in total. To assess cognitive flexibility, sample entropy was calculated for each RNG sequence. The average of the first 5 numbers in each RNG task was calculated to assess the relationship between small/large numbers and movement direction. STV and DS% were recorded using inertial measurement units, and spatial orientation was measured using a computerized test. The older subjects had less flexibility in generating random numbers in three of the six walking conditions. A negative correlation between RNG flexibility and STV was found in older adults during treadmill BW with visual-attentive distraction and forward over-ground walking, whereas no correlations were demonstrated in the young group. The spatial orientation score (a higher value means a worse outcome) correlated positively with RNG flexibility in the older group under all walking conditions, suggesting that older adults with better visuospatial orientation have lower cognitive flexibility, and vice versa. There was no correlation between small/large numbers and direction of motion in either group. The correlation between RNG flexibility and STV may indicate similar executive control of verbal and gait rhythmicity in old adults. Conversely, our results suggest that cognitive flexibility and visuospatial ability may decline differently.

Prediction of Disorientation by Accelerometric and Gait Features in Young and Older Adults Navigating in a Virtually Enriched Environment

Objective

To determine whether gait and accelerometric features can predict disorientation events in young and older adults.

Methods

Cognitively healthy younger (18–40 years, n = 25) and older (60–85 years, n = 28) participants navigated on a treadmill through a virtual representation of the city of Rostock featured within the Gait Real-Time Analysis Interactive Lab (GRAIL) system. We conducted Bayesian Poisson regression to determine the association of navigation performance with domain-specific cognitive functions. We determined associations of gait and accelerometric features with disorientation events in real-time data using Bayesian generalized mixed effect models. The accuracy of gait and accelerometric features to predict disorientation events was determined using cross-validated support vector machines (SVM) and Hidden Markov models (HMM).

Results

Bayesian analysis revealed strong evidence for the effect of gait and accelerometric features on disorientation. The evidence supported a relationship between executive functions but not visuospatial abilities and perspective taking with navigation performance. Despite these effects, the cross-validated percentage of correctly assigned instances of disorientation was only 72% in the SVM and 63% in the HMM analysis using gait and accelerometric features as predictors.

Conclusion

Disorientation is reflected in spatiotemporal gait features and the accelerometric signal as a potentially more easily accessible surrogate for gait features. At the same time, such measurements probably need to be enriched with other parameters to be sufficiently accurate for individual prediction of disorientation events.

Impact of Spatial Orientation Ability on Air Traffic Conflict Detection in a Simulated Free Route Airspace Environment

In the selection of job candidates who have the mental ability to become professional ATCOs, psychometric testing has been a ubiquitous activity in the ATM domain. To contribute to psychometric research in the ATM domain, we investigated the extent to which spatial orientation ability (SOA), as conceptualized in the spatial cognition and navigation literature, predicted air traffic conflict detection performance in a simulated free route airspace (FRA) environment. The implementation of free route airspace (FRA) over the past few years, notably in Europe, have facilitated air traffic services by giving greater flexibility to aviation operators in planning and choosing preferred air routes that can lead to quicker arrivals. FRA offers enhanced system safety and efficiency, but these benefits can be outweighed by the introduction of air traffic conflicts that are geometrically more complex. Such conflicts can arise from increased number and distribution of conflict points, as well as from elevated uncertainty in aircraft maneuvering (for instance, during heading changes). Overall, these issues will make conflict detection more challenging for air traffic controllers (ATCOs). Consequently, there is a need to select ATCOs with suitably high levels of spatial orientation ability (SOA) to ensure flight safety under FRA implementation. In this study, we tested 20 participants who are eligible for ATCO job application, and found that response time-based performance on a newly developed, open access, computerized spatial orientation test (SOT) predicted time to loss of minimum separation (tLMS) performance on an air traffic conflict detection task (AT-CDT) we designed. We found this predictive relationship to be significant to a moderately large extent under scenarios with high air traffic density (raw regression coefficient = 0.58). Moreover, we demonstrated our AT-CDT as a valid test in terms of eliciting well-known mental workload and spatial learning effects. We explained these findings in light of similar or overlapping mental processes that were most likely activated optimally under task conditions featuring approximately equal numbers of outcome-relevant stimuli. We conclude by discussing the further application of the SOT to the selection of prospective ATCOs who can demonstrate high levels of conflict detection performance in FRA during training simulations.

The study of visuospatial abilities in trainees: A scoping review and proposed model

Background

Visuospatial abilities are an important component of technical skill acquisition. Targeted visuospatial ability training may have positive implications for training programs. The development of such interventions requires an adequate understanding of the visuospatial ability processes necessary for surgical and nonsurgical tasks. This scoping review aims to identify the components of visuospatial ability that have been reported in surgical and nonsurgical trainees and determine if there is consensus regarding the language and psychometric measures used, clarifying the elements that may be required to develop interventions that enhance visuospatial ability.

Methods

A scoping review was designed to identify relevant records from EMBASE and Medline until January 13, 2020. Data were extracted on visuospatial ability terminology, dimensions, instruments, and interventions with results stratified by specialty (surgical, nonsurgical, or mixed). Conference abstracts, opinion pieces, and review studies were excluded.

Results

Out of 882 total records, 26 were identified that met criteria for inclusion. Surgical specialities were represented in > 90% of results. A total of 16 unique terms were used to describe visuospatial ability and were measured using 34 instruments, of which eight were used more than once. Eighteen different dimensions were identified. A single study explored the effects of a targeted visuospatial ability intervention.

Conclusion

A wide range of visuospatial ability terms, instruments, and dimensions were identified, suggesting an incomplete understanding of the components most relevant to surgical and nonsurgical tasks. This confusion may be hindering the development of visuospatial ability targeted interventions during residency training. A rigorous methodological model is proposed to help unify the field and guide future research.

Directionality eclipses agency: How both directional and social cues improve spatial perspective taking

Research on spatial perspective taking has suggested that including an agent in the display benefits performance. However, little research has examined the mechanisms underlying this benefit. Here, we examine how an agent benefits performance by examining its effects on three mental steps in a perspective-taking task: (1) imagining oneself at a location (station point) within in the array, (2) adopting a different perspective (heading), and (3) pointing to an object from that perspective. We also examine whether a non-agentive directional cue (an arrow) is sufficient to improve performance in an abstract map-like display. We compared a non-directional cue to two cues for position and orientation: a human figure (agentive, directional) and an arrow (non-agentive, directional). To examine the effects of cues on steps 2 and 3 of the perspective-taking process, magnitude of the initial perspective shift and pointing direction were varied across trials. Response time and error increased with the magnitude of the imagined perspective shift and pointing to the front was more accurate than pointing to the side, or back, but these effects were independent of directional cue. A directional cue alone was sufficient to improve performance relative to control, and agency did not provide additional benefit. The results overall indicate that most people adopt an embodied cognition strategy to perform this task and directional cues facilitate the first step of the perspective-taking process, imagining oneself at a location within in the array.

Spatial Orientation Skill Performance with a Workshop Based on Green Infrastructure in Cities

Better training of spatial skills of green infrastructure managers will contribute to better planning practices in this field. The professionals using geo-spatial technologies in sustainable city planning require, in their curriculum, specific training focused towards the acquisition of spatial skills. Using maps and geo-spatial technologies, spatial orientation skill is needed. In this research, a workshop based on a green infrastructure has been carried out. A specific teaching strategy for the improvement of spatial orientation skill has been performed. In the workshop, 3D technologies of graphic representation of an urban environment were used such as Cad Mapper, Sketch Up Make 2017 and Google Street View. Thirty-two students (22 treatment group, 10 control group) of agronomic engineering participated. The impact on spatial orientation skill was measured with the Perspective Taking-Spatial Orientation test, through pre- and post-tests. No gender differences were found. The Treatment Group obtained a significant increase of 19.27% in their spatial orientation skill. Participants of the Control group did not significantly increase their spatial orientation skill (3.21%). Specific teaching strategies such as those performed in this research can be effective for the training and development of spatial orientation skill, needed for geospatial planning in the field of Green Infrastructures.