Development of a virtual floor maze test – effects of distal visual cues and correlations with executive function in healthy adults

Authors: D. Martelli¹, A. Prado¹, B. Xia¹, J. Verghese², S.K. Agrawal¹,³

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University ²Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine ³Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Columbia University

Publication: IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 27(10), 2229–2236 (2019)

DOI: 10.1109/TNSRE.2019.2938103

Abstract

This study presents the development of a virtual reality version of the floor maze test (VR-FMT), a navigational assessment for evaluating spatial navigation through an unfamiliar two-dimensional floor maze. Fifty-five healthy adults completed the floor maze test in three conditions (real environment, virtual environment without walls, and virtual environment with walls) and two neuropsychological tests. The study examined how distal visual cues affect maze navigation performance and correlations with executive function. Results showed that the VR-FMT provides an ecologically valid environment for assessing spatial navigation abilities and correlates with executive function measures. This work offers potential applications for early detection and remediation of cognitive and navigational deficits in clinical populations.

Paper

Citation

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@article{martelli2019development,
  title={Development of a virtual floor maze test--effects of distal visual cues and correlations with executive function in healthy adults},
  author={Martelli, D. and Prado, A. and Xia, B. and Verghese, J. and Agrawal, S.K.},
  journal={IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering},
  volume={27},
  number={10},
  pages={2229--2236},
  year={2019},
  publisher={IEEE}
}