The Effectiveness of Home-Based Training Software Designed to Influence Strategic Navigation Preferences in Healthy Subjects.

Milan N A Van Der Kuil,Ineke J M Van Der Ham,Johanna M A Visser-Meily,Andrea W M Evers

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2020.00076

Abstract

One approach to the rehabilitation of navigation impairments is to train the use of compensatory egocentric or allocentric navigation strategies. Yet, it is unknown whether and to what degree training programs can influence strategic navigation preferences. In validating this approach, the key assumption that strategic preference can be changed by using a navigation training was assessed in a group of healthy participants (n = 82). The training program consisted of a psychoeducation session and a software package that included either allocentric or egocentric navigation exercises in virtual environments. Strategic navigation preference, objective and self-reported spatial abilities were assessed in pre- and post-training sessions. Based on their pre-training strategic preference, participants received either the egocentric training (n = 19) or the allocentric training (n = 21) version of the training. These participants engaged in four training sessions over a period of 2–3 weeks. The second group of participants did not use the training software (n = 43) and served as a control group. The results show that 50% of participants that received the egocentric training shifted from an allocentric to and an egocentric strategic preference. The proportion of participants that switched their strategic preference as a result of the allocentric training was identical to this proportion in the control group (19%). The training did not affect objective and self-reported navigation abilities as measured in the pre- and post-training sessions. We conclude that strategic navigation preferences can be influenced by using home-based training in healthy participants. However, using the current approach, only a preference shift from an allocentric to an egocentric navigation strategy could be achieved. The effectiveness of this navigation strategy training should next be assessed in relevant patient populations.

Highlights

Spatial navigation is a complex cognitive ability that is essential to our daily functioning
To maintain a gender balance in the egocentric training condition, the sessions of 29 females and one male were terminated during screening as they displayed an egocentric navigation strategy in the Starmaze, while this condition was already filled
Seven participants were screened on the basis of exclusion criteria as they reported psychological or neurological disorders, two participants did not perform the training at home, three participants were lost to attrition, two participants were wrongly classified into the allocentric training condition

Summary

Introduction

Spatial navigation is a complex cognitive ability that is essential to our daily functioning. Neuroimaging and lesion studies have identified a large neural network associated with spatial navigation, including the hippocampal formation, parahippocampal gyrus, retrosplenial cortex, medial temporal lobe, prefrontal cortex, precuneus and regions of the parietal lobe (Maguire et al, 1999; Chrastil, 2013; Boccia et al, 2014; Spiers and Barry, 2015). This widespread recruitment of the brain renders the navigation ability highly vulnerable to brain damage. Navigation impairments have been associated with lowered quality of life, heightened levels of spatial anxiety and reduced autonomy (van der Ham et al, 2013)

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