A virtual reality platform for memory evaluation: Assessing effects of spatial strategies

MARÍA FLORENCIA RODRÍGUEZ; DANIELA RAMIREZ BUTAVAND; MARÍA VIRGINIA CIFUENTES; PEDRO BEKINSCHTEIN; BALLARINI, FABRICIO; CRISTIAN GARCÍA BAUZA

behaviour research methods

springer

Año: 2021

1554-3528

AbstractHuman spatial memories are usually evaluated using computer screens instead of real arenas or landscapes where subjectscould move voluntarily and use allocentric cues to guide their behavior. A possible approach to fll this gap is the adoption ofvirtual reality, which provides the opportunity to create spatial memory tasks closer to real-life experience. Here we presentand evaluate a new software to create experiments using this technology. Specifcally, we have developed a spatial memorytask that is carried out in a computer-assisted virtual environment where participants walk around a virtual arena using ajoystick. This spatial memory task provides an immersive environment where the spatial component is constantly presentwithout the use of virtual reality goggles. The design is similar to that of tasks used for animal studies, allowing a directcomparison across species. We found that only participants who reported using spatial cues to guide their behavior showedsignifcant learning and performed signifcantly better during a memory test. This tool allows evaluation of human spatialmemory in an ecological environment and will be useful to develop a wide range of other tasks to assess spatial cognition.