No gender differences in egocentric and allocentric environmental transformation after compensating for male advantage by manipulating familiarity

The present study has two-fold aims: to investigate whether gender differences persist even when more time is given to acquire spatial information; to assess the gender effect when the retrieval phase requires recalling the pathway from the same or a different reference perspective (egocentric or allocentric). Specifically, we analyse the performance of men and women while learning a path from a map or by observing an experimenter in a real environment. We then asked them to reproduce the learned path using the same reference system (map learning vs. map retrieval or real environment learning vs. real environment retrieval) or using a different reference system (map learning vs. real environment retrieval or vice versa). The results showed that gender differences were not present in the retrieval phase when women have the necessary time to acquire spatial information. Moreover, using the egocentric coordinates (both in the learning and retrieval phase) proved easier than the other conditions, whereas learning through allocentric coordinates and then retrieving the environmental information using egocentric coordinates proved to be the most difficult. Results showed that by manipulating familiarity, gender differences disappear, or are attenuated in all conditions

Editorial. Creativity and mental imagery

Considering the pivotal role that creative ideas play in human societies, and creativity's contribution to multiple aspects of human life, understanding the cognitive components underlying creativity has become increasingly fundamental. Since the Five-Stages Model of the creative process proposed by Wallas (1926), creativity has become associated with topics as wide-ranging as from problem-solving (Plucker et al., 2004) to art (van Leeuwen et al., 1999; Batt et al., 2010). Furthermore, creativity has been identified as a predictor for educational success and wellbeing (Plucker et al., 2004), and has been proposed as a way to improve the quality of life in healthy and pathological agin

Navigational style influences eye movement pattern during exploration and learning of an environmental map

During navigation people may adopt three different spatial styles (i.e., Landmark, Route, and Survey). Landmark style (LS) people are able to recall familiar landmarks but cannot combine them with directional information; Route style (RS) people connect landmarks to each other using egocentric information about direction; Survey style (SS) people use a map-like representation of the environment. SS individuals generally navigate better than LS and RS people. Fifty-one college students (20 LS; 17 RS, and 14 SS) took part in the experiment. The spatial cognitive style (SCS) was assessed by means of the SCS test; participants then had to learn a schematic map of a city, and after 5 min had to recall the path depicted on it. During the learning and delayed recall phases, eye-movements were recorded. Our intent was to investigate whether there is a peculiar way to explore an environmental map related to the individual's spatial style. Results support the presence of differences in the strategy used by the three spatial styles for learning the path and its delayed recall. Specifically, LS individuals produced a greater number of fixations of short duration, while the opposite eye movement pattern characterized SS individuals. Moreover, SS individuals showed a more spread and comprehensive explorative pattern of the map, while LS individuals focused their exploration on the path and related targets. RS individuals showed a pattern of exploration at a level of proficiency between LS and SS individuals. We discuss the clinical and anatomical implications of our data

Where do bright ideas occur in our brain? Meta-analytic evidence from neuroimaging studies of domain-specific creativity

Many studies have assessed the neural underpinnings of creativity, failing to find a clear anatomical localization. We aimed to provide evidence for a multi-componential neural system for creativity. We applied a general activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to 45 fMRI studies. Three individual ALE analyses were performed to assess creativity in different cognitive domains (Musical, Verbal, and Visuo-spatial). The general ALE revealed that creativity relies on clusters of activations in the bilateral occipital, parietal, frontal, and temporal lobes. The individual ALE revealed different maximal activation in different domains. Musical creativity yields activations in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, in the left cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule and in the right postcentral and fusiform gyri. Verbal creativity yields activations mainly located in the left hemisphere, in the prefrontal cortex, middle and superior temporal gyri, inferior parietal lobule, postcentral and supramarginal gyri, middle occipital gyrus, and insula. The right inferior frontal gyrus and the lingual gyrus were also activated. Visuo-spatial creativity activates the right middle and inferior frontal gyri, the bilateral thalamus and the left precentral gyrus. This evidence suggests that creativity relies on multi-componential neural networks and that different creativity domains depend on different brain regions

Engineers’ abilities influence spatial perspective changing

In this paper we studied the effect of engineering expertise in providing directional judgments. We asked two groups of people, engineers and non-engineers, to observe and memorize five maps, each including a four-point path, for 30 sec. The path was then removed and the participants had to provide two directional judgments: aligned (the imagined perspective on the task was the same as the one just learned), and counter-aligned (the imagined perspective on the task was rotated by 180°). Our results showed that engineers are equally able to perform aligned and counter-aligned directional judgments. The alignment effect due to the distance from the learning perspective was, in fact, shown only by non-engineers. Results are discussed considering engineering both learning expertise and specific predisposition

Where Am I? Searching for the Tangle in the Developmental Topographical Disorientation

The Developmental Topographical Disorientation (DTD) is a pathological condition that impairs an individual's ability to orient in space, even in the most familiar environments. It is a lifelong selective condition in individuals without brain damage or without impaired general cognitive functions. Here, we aimed at characterizing 54 individuals with DTD identified in a previous study, aged between 18 and 35 years and assessed through a 4-year-long online survey. To this purpose, we compared them with 54 matched healthy participants. We described the demographics, sense of direction, town knowledge, navigational strategies, left-right confusion as well as agnosic disorders (for landmarks, faces and objects). This novel study attempts to characterize the phenotype of DTD, providing an important contribution to the worldwide definition of a condition that was first described only 13 years ago, but which, considering the growing number of cases complaining of the disorder, deserves continuous and increasing attention

The Role of Gender and Familiarity in a Modified Version of the Almeria Boxes Room Spatial Task

ndividual factors like gender and familiarity can affect the kind of environmental representation that a person acquires during spatial navigation. Men seem to prefer relying on map-like survey representations, while women prefer using sequential route representations. Moreover, a good familiarity with the environment allows more complete environmental representations. This study was aimed at investigating gender differences in two different object-position learning tasks (i.e., Almeria Boxes Tasks) assuming a route or a survey perspective also considering the role of environmental familiarity. Two groups of participants had to learn the position of boxes placed in a virtual room. Participants had several trials, so that familiarity with the environment could increase. In both tasks, the effects of gender and familiarity were found, and only in the route perspective did an interaction effect emerge. This suggests that gender differences can be found regardless of the perspective taken, with men outperforming women in navigational tasks. However, in the route task, gender differences appeared only at the initial phase of learning, when the environment was unexplored, and disappeared when familiarity with the environment increased. This is consistent with studies showing that familiarity can mitigate gender differences in spatial tasks, especially in more complex ones

Effects of Visuo-Spatial Working Memory on Wayfinding Ability

The present review analyse the relationship between visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) in wayfinding, which is the ability to move successfully through the environment. As the results of research on individual differences in wayfinding are mixed, various explanation have to be considered. In this chapter, we will analyze these findings in light of the different component of VSWM proposed by Logie (1995, 2003) and a more recent model by Cornoldi and Vecchi (2003). We will also investigate the development of VSWM and how its changes in older adults, causing a decrease in wayfinding ability. For example, evidence from studies of route learning and memory for object location indicates an aging-related decrement in piloting, particularly in unfamiliar surroundings. On the one hand, the decline in landmark-based navigation could be the result of diminished path integration skill, particularly if path integration typically provides a supplemental informational for piloting. On the other hand, the more basic path integration process may retain its operational integrity beyond the time that association-based piloting begins to reflect a general age-related decline in learning rate. In this chapter, we considered these different explanations in relation to theories about VSWM. Finally, we consider the results of studies on brain-damagedpatients demonstrating the importance of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which is necessary to maintain active the goal destination in VSWM for use in navigation

Sense of direction: The importance of the environmental familiarity [Il senso dell'orientamento: Quanto conta la familiarità con l'ambiente?]

The present study investigates the self-report sense of direction (SOD) considering the different role of some internal factors (gender, cognitive style and familiarity with the environment) by means of a new self-report questionnaire. Instruments used until now have considered just gender and cognitive styles but never familiarity. Here, following these considerations, we aimed to observe if familiarity can also influence SOD. With this aim we asked at eighty college students to fill in a familiarity and cognitive style questionnaire. Our results showed the importance to consider the three factors when evaluating the individual's SOD. Indeed, when people have a cognitive style based on poor spatial ability (i.e., landmark) they will be able to represent the environment like-map (i.e., survey corresponding to a cognitive style based on high spatial ability) only when they are highly familiar with it. In conclusion, to have a real orienteering individual profile and to individuate specific topographical orientation disorder it is very useful to consider each individual internal factor

Familiarity and spatial cognitive style: How important are they for spatial representation?

How we acquire and represent spatial information is one of the most important unsolved issues in spatial cognition. Siegel and White (1975) affirmed that different forms of environmental knowledge are acquired and represented depending on the type of information selected: landmark, characterized by environmental patterns that are perceptually salient or important for the person; route, based on the pathes generally used to connect landmarks; and survey, an overall configuration of the environment, similar to a map. According to these authors, anyone can reach survey representation with extensive experience of the environment. Recently, Pazzaglia and co-workers (2000) demonstrated that these three types of representations correspond to three different spatial cognitive styles. Conversely, according to Montello (1998) a pure landmark or route representation does not exist; indeed, during their first exposure to the environment, people acquire and represent an overall survey configuration of it. Our aim was to determine whether environmental familiarity and/or spatial cognitive style predict the way we acquire and represent spatial information. Forty participants who had different degrees of familiarity with the Italian city of Bologna took part in the experiment. Familiarity with Bologna was evaluated using a questionnaire. This city was selected because it has a small and well-defined centre that can be easily explored on foot. Participants were further subdivided by spatial cognitive style to assess its weight in environmental representation. They performed six spatial tasks concerning Bologna that measured different spatial abilities, based on Siegel and White's frameworks (1975). We found that neither familiarity with the environment nor spatial cognitive style predict the correct solution of landmark tasks, whereas both familiarity with the environment and spatial cognitive style predict the correct solution of route and survey tasks.. Thus, we can affirm that both familiarity with the environment and spatial cognitive style are important for acquiring and representing spatial information, but their involvement depends on task demands. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which knowledge of a real town has been measured. This ecological setting allowed us to propose a new model to explain individual differences in moving successfully through the environment. \ua9 2010 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved