Functional near-infrared spectroscopy in the neuropsychological assessment of spatial memory: A systematic review; 35123299

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive optical imaging technique that employs near-infrared light to measure cortical brain oxygenation. The use of fNIRS has increased exponentially in recent years. Spatial memory is defined as the ability to learn and use spatial information. This neuropsychological process is constantly used in our daily lives and can be measured by fNIRS but no research has reviewed whether this technique can be useful in the neuropsychological assessment of spatial memory. This study aimed to review empirical work on the use of fNIRS in the neuropsychological assessment of human spatial memory. We used four databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science, and a total of 18 articles were found to be eligible. Most of the articles assessed spatial or visuospatial working memory with a predominance in computer-based tasks, used fNIRS equipment of 16 channels and mainly measured the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The studies analysed found linear or quadratic relationships between working memory load and PFC activity, greater activation of PFC activity and worse behavioural results in healthy older people in comparison with healthy adults, and hyperactivation of PFC as a form of compensation in clinical samples. We conclude that fNIRS is compatible with the standard neuropsychological assessment of spatial memory, making it possible to complement behavioural results with data of cortical functional activity. © 202

Anosmia in COVID-19 could be associated with long-term deficits in the consolidation of procedural and verbal declarative memories

[EN] Background and purposeLong-COVID describes the long-term effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In long-COVID patients, neuropsychological alterations are frequently reported symptoms. Research points to medial temporal lobe dysfunction and its association with anosmia in long-COVID patients. This study aims to investigate the acquisition and consolidation of declarative and procedural memory in long-COVID patients and to explore whether anosmia is related to these dissociated memory functions. MethodsForty-two long-COVID participants and 30 controls (C) were recruited. The sample of long-COVID patients was divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of anosmia, group A and group NA, respectively. Objective performance in verbal declarative memory (Paired-Associate Learning, PAL), procedural memory (Mirror Tracing Test, MTT), general cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale), psychomotor speed, and incidental learning (Digit Symbol Substitution Test) were assessed and compared among the A, NA, and C groups. Long-term retention of PAL and MTT were assessed 24 h after acquisition. ResultsLower scores in general cognition, psychomotor speed, and sustained attention were found in A and NA compared with C. However, incidental learning, both cue-guided and free-recalled, was diminished in group A compared with C, with no differences with group NA. General cognition and incidental learning were related to declarative memory function exclusively in long-COVID groups. Long-COVID groups presented lower long-term retention of verbal declarative memory than controls in recall tests but no differences in recognition tests. No group differences were found in the acquisition of procedural memory. However, long-term retention of this memory was worse in group A as compared to the NA and C groups, respectively, when errors and time of execution were considered. ConclusionFindings support that consolidation of both procedural and declarative memories is more affected than the acquisition of these memories in long-COVID patients, who are also more vulnerable to deficits in delayed recall than in recognition of declarative memories. Deficits in the consolidation of procedural memory and immediate recall of declarative information are especially relevant in long-COVID participants with anosmia. This indicates that anosmia in COVID-19 could be associated with a long-term dysfunction of the limbic system.This work was supported by the Conselleria d'Innovacio, Universitats, Ciencia i Societat Digital de la Generalitat Valenciana (GVA-COVID19/2021/025), Gobierno de Aragon (Departamento de Ciencia, Universidad y Sociedad del Conocimiento), and FEDER "Construyendo Europa desde Aragon" for the research group with reference S31_20D.Llana, T.; Mendez, M.; Zorzo, C.; Fidalgo, C.; Juan, M.; Mendez-Lopez, M. (2022). Anosmia in COVID-19 could be associated with long-term deficits in the consolidation of procedural and verbal declarative memories. Frontiers in Neuroscience (Online). 16:1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.10828111151

Learning in the navigational space: Age differences in a short-term memory for objects task Learning and Individual Differences

Age differences during development in visuospatial short-termmemory (VSTM) in navigation have not been sufficiently proven. The performance of typically developing children from five age groups (from 5 to 9 years old) and one group of young adults (from 25 to 30 years old) was studied in an Augmented Reality navigational VSTM task that involved remembering the location of objects presented in increasing span lengths. The main results showed that navigational VSTM has not fully developed at the age of 9. The measures of performance significantly improved between ages 8 and 9. The overall performance on our navigational task was not influenced by gender, but therewas a slight advantage for maleswhen the difficulty of the task increased regarding the performance accuracy and the errors committed. The Augmented Reality task correlated with traditional spatial tests. Possible cognitive, biological, and methodological explanations for the findings are discussed.This work was funded mainly by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the CHILDMNEMOS project (TIN2012-37381-C02-01) and confinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). Other financial support was received from the Gobierno de Aragon (Departamento de Industria e Innovacion), Fondo Social Europeo for Aragon, Fundacion Universitaria Antonio Gargallo, and Obra Social Ibercaja. We would like to thank the following for their contributions: the "Escola d'Estiu" and especially Juan Cano, Miguelon Gimenez, and Javier Irimia; the ETSInf for letting us use its facilities; the children who participated in the study and their parents who filled out the parent's questionnaires.Mendez Lopez, M.; Pérez Hernández, E.; Juan, M. (2016). Learning in the navigational space: Age differences in a short-term memory for objects task Learning and Individual Differences. Learning and Individual Differences. 50:11-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.06.028S11225

A 3D serious game for dental learning in higher education

Natural User Interfaces and advanced displays can be combined to provide rich learning experiences. In this paper, we present the development and validation of a serious game that combines autostereoscopy and Natural User Interfaces for dental learning in higher education. The game includes two modes: neutral and real-world background. A comparative study to check different aspects was carried out. A total of 33 dentistry students participated in the study. From the results, the students increased significantly their knowledge about teeth morphology. Most of the students preferred the neutral background for dental learning. The real-world background was identified as being more suitable for leisure activities

Auditory and Spatial Assessment in Inattentive Children Using Smart Devices and Gesture Interaction

We present an interactive game for assessing auditory and spatial memory. We compared the performance of children with and without inattention using the game and using a variety of classical tools for assessment of auditory and spatial memory. The children with inattention showed statistically worse performance in the game. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups for the satisfaction and interaction outcomes. Therefore, our game could be a good tool for distinguishing performances of children with and without inattention

Wayfinding Strategy and Gender - Testing the Mediating Effects of Wayfinding Experience, Personality and Emotions

Background: Individual differences have been seen to play a key role in spatial orientation. Gender implications have been previously described but little is known about how other variables, such as wayfinding anxiety, emotional difficulties and wayfinding experience can mediate this relationship. Methods: A group of 269 participants were involved in this study and completed questionnaires on their self-reported allocentric orientation strategy, wayfinding experience and satisfaction with the ability for wayfinding. Emotional outcomes were also investigated: spatial and trait anxiety, neuroticism, difficulties in emotion regulation, and personal safety. First, a principal component analysis was conducted and the studied variables were grouped into four components: outdoor wayfinding experience, wayfinding-related fear, emotional difficulties, and effective wayfinding skill. Afterwards, structural equation modelling was performed, using the MPLUS statistical program. Results: The results showed that gender constitutes a predictor for using an effective wayfinding skill and for feeling wayfinding-related fear. However, outdoor wayfinding experience, wayfinding-related fear and emotional difficulties did not mediate the relationship between effective wayfinding skill and gender. Conclusion: These results highlight the differential contribution of gender in the emotions that are experienced during spatial orientation and emotions that are related to other types of situations. The limitations, strengths and theoretical implications of the proposed model are discussed. Further investigation is needed in order to understand the role of emotions in spatial orientation

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

Augmented Reality Based on SLAM to Assess Spatial Short-Term Memory

Spatial short-term memory is defined as the limited ability of people to retain and remember the location of elements for short periods of time. In this paper, we present the first AR app based on SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) to assess spatial short-term memory. A total of 55 participants were involved in a study for remembering the real place where four virtual objects were located in the real environment. The participants were divided into two groups: the ARGroup (the participants learned the location of the virtual objects in the real environment in an adaptation phase using AR) and the NoARGroup (the participants learned the location of the objects by looking at photographs). The results indicated that the performance outcomes in remembering objects and their location for the participants in the ARGroup were statistically significantly greater than those obtained by the participants in the NoARGroup. From this result and our observations, we can conclude that touring the augmented environment helped the participants to better remember the location of virtual objects added to the real scene compared to looking at photographs of the environment. Furthermore, statistically significant differences were not found in relation to gender or age. Finally, our app has several advantages: 1) Our app works in any environment and does not require adding real elements to the environment; 2) the evaluators can select any real environment and place the virtual elements where they want and even change them between sessions; and 3) our app could work similar to the way spatial memory does in everyday life