Gender Differences in Accurate Route Recall in Novice Drivers Using Landmarks in Electronic Maps

Past literature has found a link between gender and accuracy of route recall in traditional paper maps using landmarks. Research also suggests that what is already known about wayfinding behavior in the physical world can be applied to computer-generated environments. The goal of this study is to merge these two conclusions to determine if gender and route recall differences remain constant for global, electronic maps. Analysis of gender by accuracy as measured by number of trials showed that males required fewer trials (M = 3.63) than females (M = 4.09), F (1,99) = 7.29, p \u3c .05 and accuracy as measured by number of errors in trial 1 also showed that males had fewer errors (M = 3.33) than females (M = 4.09), F (1,99) = 5.79, p \u3c .05. Analysis of landmarks by accuracy as measured by number of trials showed participants viewing Landmark High Maps required fewer trials (M = 3.64) than those viewing Landmark Low Maps (M = 4.12), F (1,99) = 7.68, p \u3c .05. Accuracy as measured by number of errors in trial 1 showed participants viewing Landmark High Maps had fewer errors in trial 1 (M = 3.16) than those viewing Landmark Low Maps (M = 4.33), F (1,99) = 11.87

Navigation in Real-World Environments: New Opportunities Afforded by Advances in Mobile Brain Imaging

A central question in neuroscience and psychology is how the mammalian brain represents the outside world and enables interaction with it. Significant progress on this question has been made in the domain of spatial cognition, where a consistent network of brain regions that represent external space has been identified in both humans and rodents. In rodents, much of the work to date has been done in situations where the animal is free to move about naturally. By contrast, the majority of work carried out to date in humans is static, due to limitations imposed by traditional laboratory based imaging techniques. In recent years, significant progress has been made in bridging the gap between animal and human work by employing virtual reality (VR) technology to simulate aspects of real-world navigation. Despite this progress, the VR studies often fail to fully simulate important aspects of real-world navigation, where information derived from self-motion is integrated with representations of environmental features and task goals. In the current review article, we provide a brief overview of animal and human imaging work to date, focusing on commonalties and differences in findings across species. Following on from this we discuss VR studies of spatial cognition, outlining limitations and developments, before introducing mobile brain imaging techniques and describe technical challenges and solutions for real-world recording. Finally, we discuss how these advances in mobile brain imaging technology, provide an unprecedented opportunity to illuminate how the brain represents complex multifaceted information during naturalistic navigation

Egocentric and allocentric spatial reference frames in aging: A systematic review

Abstract Aging affects many aspects of everyday living, such as autonomy, security and quality of life. Among all, spatial memory and spatial navigation show a gradual but noticeable decline, as a result of both neurobiological changes and the general slowing down of cognitive functioning. We conducted a systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to identify studies that specifically investigated the role of allocentric and egocentric frames in healthy aging. Concerning spatial navigation, our results showed a preservation of egocentric strategies, along with specific impairments in the use of allocentric and switching abilities. Regarding spatial memory, instead, outcomes were more divergent and not frame-specific. With this perspective, spatial impairments were discussed considering the cognitive profile of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD)