Aging and spatial cues influence the updating of navigational memories.

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Titel: Aging and spatial cues influence the updating of navigational memories.
Autoren: Merhav, Maayan, Wolbers, Thomas
Quelle: Scientific reports 9(1), 11469 (2019). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-47971-2
Verlagsinformationen: Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature
Publikationsjahr: 2019
Schlagwörter: info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/600, Age Factors, Aged, Aging: physiology, Cognitive Dysfunction: diagnosis, Cognitive Dysfunction: physiopathology, Cues, Female, Humans, Male, Space Perception: physiology, Spatial Memory: physiology, Spatial Navigation: physiology, Virtual Reality, Young Adult
Geographisches Schlagwort: DE
Beschreibung: Updating navigational memories is important for everyday tasks. It was recently found that older adults are impaired in updating spatial representations in small, bi-dimensional layouts. Because performance in small-scale areas cannot predict navigational behavior, we investigated how aging affects the updating of navigational memories encoded in large, 3-dimensional environments. Moreover, since locations can be encoded relative to the observer (egocentric encoding) or relative to landmarks (allocentric encoding), we tested whether the presumed age-related spatial updating deficit depends on the available spatial cues. By combining whole-body motion tracking with immersive virtual reality, we could dissociate egocentric and allocentric spatial cues and assess navigational memory under ecologically valid conditions (i.e., providing body-based and visual cues). In the task, objects were relocated overnight, and young and older participants had to navigate to the updated locations of the objects. In addition to replicating age-related deficits in allocentric memory, we found age-related impairments in updating navigational memories following egocentric encoding. Finally, older participants depicted stronger representations of the previous navigational context that were correlated with their spatial updating deficits. Given that these effects may stem from inefficient suppression of former navigational memories, our findings propose a mechanism that helps explain the navigational decline in aging.
Publikationsart: article in journal/newspaper
Sprache: English
Relation: info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/pmid:31391574; info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/2045-2322; https://pub.dzne.de/record/140869
Verfügbarkeit: https://pub.dzne.de/record/140869
https://pub.dzne.de/search?p=id:%22DZNE-2020-07191%22
Rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Dokumentencode: edsbas.DED5E128
Datenbank: BASE
Beschreibung
Abstract:Updating navigational memories is important for everyday tasks. It was recently found that older adults are impaired in updating spatial representations in small, bi-dimensional layouts. Because performance in small-scale areas cannot predict navigational behavior, we investigated how aging affects the updating of navigational memories encoded in large, 3-dimensional environments. Moreover, since locations can be encoded relative to the observer (egocentric encoding) or relative to landmarks (allocentric encoding), we tested whether the presumed age-related spatial updating deficit depends on the available spatial cues. By combining whole-body motion tracking with immersive virtual reality, we could dissociate egocentric and allocentric spatial cues and assess navigational memory under ecologically valid conditions (i.e., providing body-based and visual cues). In the task, objects were relocated overnight, and young and older participants had to navigate to the updated locations of the objects. In addition to replicating age-related deficits in allocentric memory, we found age-related impairments in updating navigational memories following egocentric encoding. Finally, older participants depicted stronger representations of the previous navigational context that were correlated with their spatial updating deficits. Given that these effects may stem from inefficient suppression of former navigational memories, our findings propose a mechanism that helps explain the navigational decline in aging.