Visuospatial Research Articles

Inspection time and intelligence: A five-wave longitudinal study from age 70 to age 82 in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

To test the idea that the slowing of simple information processing contributes to more general cognitive ageing, it is necessary to demonstrate that changes in the two variables are correlated as people grow older. Here, we examine the association between inspection time—a psychophysical measure of visual information processing—and general cognitive ability and the cognitive domains of visuospatial reasoning, processing speed, memory, and crystallised ability across five waves of testing in a 12-year period. The participants were members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936; there was a maximum of 1090 people with cognitive data at age 70 (Wave 1) and 426 at age 82 (Wave 5). At each testing wave the participants took the same 12 cognitive tests. Latent growth curve modelling in a structural equation modelling framework was used to examine the associations between intercepts and slopes of inspection time and other cognitive capabilities. Age-related changes (slope) in inspection time correlated 0.898 (p < 0.001) with changes (slope) in general cognitive ability over the 12 years. Inspection time changes correlated with changes in each of the four cognitive domains, but these associations were reduced to non-significance once the domains' loadings on general cognitive ability were taken into account (with the possible exception of memory, whose changes still had a marginal additional association with inspection time changes; β = 0.199, p = 0.030). The results are compatible with the idea that age-related slowing of processing speed contributes causally to the age-related declines in complex cognitive capability, but this is not the only interpretation of the present findings.

Atlas for the Lateralized Visuospatial Attention Networks (ALANs): Insights from fMRI and network analyses

Abstract Hemispheric specialization is central to human evolution and fundamental to human cognitive abilities. While being a defining feature of functional brain architecture, hemispheric specialization is overlooked to derive brain parcellations. Alongside language, which is typically lateralized in the left hemisphere, visuospatial attention is set to be its counterpart in the opposite hemisphere. However, it remains uncertain to what extent the anatomical and functional underpinnings of lateralized visuospatial attention mirror those supporting language. Building on our previous work, which established a lateralized brain atlas for language, we propose a comprehensive cerebral lateralized atlas delineating the anatomo-functional bases of visuospatial attention, Atlas for Lateralized visuospatial Attentional Networks (ALANs). Combining task and resting-state functional connectivity analyses, we identified 95 lateralized brain areas comprising three networks supporting visual (visu), motor (somato-motor), and spatial processing (posterior-medial) processes at work during a line judgment bisection task, and two large-scale networks related to integrated visuospatial attention processes, the parieto-frontal and temporo-frontal networks. We identify hubs playing a pivotal role in the intra-hemispheric interaction within visuospatial attentional networks. The rightward lateralized parieto-frontal encompasses one hub, the inferior frontal sulcus, while the temporo-frontal network encompasses two right hubs: the inferior frontal cortex (pars triangularis and the anterior insula) and the posterior part of the superior temporal sulcus. Compared with our language lateralized atlas, we demonstrated that specific regions within these networks encompass the homotope of the language network from the left hemisphere. This atlas of visuospatial attention provides valuable insights for future investigations into the variability of visuospatial attention and hemispheric specialization research. Additionally, it facilitates more effective comparisons among different studies, thereby enhancing the robustness and reliability of research in the field of attention.

An algorithmic approach to detect generalization in sketch maps from sketch map alignment.

Sketch maps are valuable tools used across various disciplines including spatial cognition, environmental psychology, and spatial reasoning. A common approach to evaluate sketch maps in research is to align and compare them with metric maps. However, sketch maps are highly abstract and contain generalized information causing difficulty in their alignment. Current approaches to study sketch maps cannot handle generalized information. They require a one-on-one correspondence between features in the metric map and features in the sketch map. But memory is often generalized. This paper makes two contributions to the research on sketch maps: (i) we present an algorithmic approach to detect generalization in sketch maps (ii) we present an online tool that creates a generalized metric map corresponding to features in sketch maps. Previously, we identified nine types of generalization in sketch maps. In this paper, we develop formal operators to detect these generalizations and implement them as an online tool. We evaluated our algorithm with a set of 11 sketch maps containing 84 instances of generalization. The results indicated that our algorithm consistently detects instances of generalization in sketch maps.

Atypical lateralization of visuospatial attention can be associated with better or worse performance on line bisection

The causal and statistical hypotheses diverge in determining whether the lateralization of language function in one cerebral hemisphere entails the lateralization of visuospatial function in the opposite hemisphere. Additionally, it remains unclear if the atypical segregation of these functions could influence cognitive performance. This study addresses these questions by examining the hemispheric lateralization of visuospatial attention during a line bisection judgement (landmark) task in three groups of healthy non-right-handed individuals with different language production segregations: left (typical), ambilateral (atypical), and right (atypical). Consistent with the causal hypothesis, results indicate that the groups with left and right language lateralization primarily utilize the opposite hemisphere for visuospatial attention. The ambilateral group, however, displays a pattern compatible with an independent segregation, supporting the statistical hypothesis. Behavioral analyses reveal that atypical lateralization of visuospatial attention (non-right) can lead to either better or worse performance during the landmark task, depending on the specific pattern. Bilateral organization is associated with reduced overall accuracy, whereas the left segregation results in improved performance during the most challenging trials. These findings suggest the existence of diverse pathways to lateralization, akin to either the causal or statistical hypothesis, which can result in cognitive advantages or disadvantages.

Spatial reasoning in mathematics standards: identifying how early elementary educators are systematically supported to teach spatial skills

Spatial reasoning is critical to early mathematics learning, but it is unclear how early elementary educators learn to teach and are supported in teaching its comprising skills. One view of the available supports can be found by examining the alignment of spatial reasoning skills and mathematics education standards, as standards provide the content of the intended curriculum children are expected to learn at each grade level. This study used content analysis methods to investigate how spatial reasoning might be taught through broadly adopted early elementary education standards in the United States, the Kindergarten through Grade 2 Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The paper describes the frequency and degree of explicitness with which 38 spatial reasoning skills are therein represented. Findings indicate that most standards implicitly relate to some form of spatial reasoning through a pedagogical reach of teaching expertise, but few standards contain explicit spatial linkages. The implications and limitations of this analysis are discussed in relation to teaching spatial reasoning in early elementary grades and students’ opportunities to learn these critical skills.

Defining Spatial Reasoning: A Content Analysis to Explicate Spatial Reasoning Skills for Early Childhood Educators’ Use

Spatial reasoning is critical for mathematics learning and achievement, and its comprising skills are necessary in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. To support young children in learning to reason spatially, clear definitions of the construct and supports for early childhood educators to teach the skills are needed. This study defines spatial reasoning as a comprehensive, comprehensible framework of skills. Using problem-driven content analysis, 835 text units from 103 sources, plus definitions from two reputable dictionary sources, were used to adopt, adapt, and infer the definitions for 40 terms that collectively represent spatial reasoning. Findings provide both the definitions and evidence of the extent to which various spatial reasoning skills have been investigated empirically. Directions for future research are discussed, including the need to refine the framework to ensure its utility for teachers and researchers.

Exploring Electrocortical Signatures of Gait Adaptation: Differential Neural Dynamics in Slow and Fast Gait Adapters.

Individuals exhibit significant variability in their ability to adapt locomotor skills, with some adapting quickly and others more slowly. Differences in brain activity likely contribute to this variability, but direct neural evidence is lacking. We investigated individual differences in electrocortical activity that led to faster locomotor adaptation rates. We recorded high-density electroencephalography while young, neurotypical adults adapted their walking on a split-belt treadmill and grouped them based on how quickly they restored their gait symmetry. Results revealed unique spectral signatures within the posterior parietal, bilateral sensorimotor, and right visual cortices that differ between fast and slow adapters. Specifically, fast adapters exhibited lower alpha power in the posterior parietal and right visual cortices during early adaptation, associated with quicker attainment of steady-state step length symmetry. Decreased posterior parietal alpha may reflect enhanced spatial attention, sensory integration, and movement planning to facilitate faster locomotor adaptation. Conversely, slow adapters displayed greater alpha and beta power in the right visual cortex during late adaptation, suggesting potential differences in visuospatial processing. Additionally, fast adapters demonstrated reduced spectral power in the bilateral sensorimotor cortices compared with slow adapters, particularly in the theta band, which may suggest variations in perception of the split-belt perturbation. These findings suggest that alpha and beta oscillations in the posterior parietal and visual cortices and theta oscillations in the sensorimotor cortex are related to the rate of gait adaptation.

Brain-Immune interactions: Implication for Cognitive impairments in Alzheimer's Disease and autoimmune disorders.

Progressive memory loss and cognitive dysfunction, encompassing deficits in learning, memory, problem-solving, spatial reasoning, verbal expression are characteristics of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD). A wealth of studies has described multiple roles of the immune system in the development or exacerbation of dementia. Individuals with autoimmune disorders can also develop cognitive dysfunction, a phenomenon termed autoimmune dementia. Together, these findings underscore the pivotal role of the neuroimmune axis in both ADRD and autoimmune dementia. The dynamic interplay between adaptive and innate immunity, both in and outside the brain, significantly affects the etiology and progression of these conditions. Multidisciplinary research shows that cognitive dysfunction arises from a bidirectional relationship between the nervous and immune systems, though the specific mechanisms that drive cognitive impairments are not fully understood. Intriguingly, this reciprocal regulation occurs at multiple levels, where neuronal signals can modulate immune responses, and immune system-related processes can influence neuronal viability and function. In this review, we consider the implications of autoimmune responses in various autoimmune disorders and Alzheimer's disease and explore their effects on brain function. We also discuss the diverse cellular and molecular cross talk between the brain and the immune system as they may shed light on potential triggers of peripheral inflammation, their effect on the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and brain function. Additionally, we assess challenges and possibilities associated with developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of cognitive decline.

Comparative Analysis of MoCA and DigiMoCA Test Results: A Pilot Study

This study examined the cognitive performance of older adults aged 60 and above using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test and DigiMoCA, a digital tool for cognitive screening administered by means of a smart speaker, to investigate whether the additional variables utilised by DigiMoCA allow for the identification of significant differences between individuals with depressive symptoms and those with mild cognitive impairment, which are not detected using the original MoCA test. A total of 73 senior adults located in Northwestern Spain, 22 male and 51 female, participated in this study. Subjects were divided into four groups based on the presence of depressive symptoms and mild cognitive impairment, with the aim of analysing the results of each dimension of the MoCA and DigiMoCA tests and assessing the additional insights provided by the digital administration tool. The results indicate significant differences among groups. Individuals with depressive symptoms exhibited poorer performance in forward number span, attention, and clock drawing compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, individuals with depressive symptoms and mild cognitive impairment exhibited significantly worse memory and orientation compared to those with cognitive impairment alone. Correlations revealed that a greater severity of depressive symptoms was associated with poorer performance across cognitive domains, including visuospatial skills, attention, language, memory, and phonemic verbal fluency. This study also illustrated how the exploitation of additional variables systematically captured by digital instruments, such as completion times or response delays to individual interactions, may facilitate the early identification of cognitive and depressive conditions, providing initial evidence about the importance of integrating advanced digital tools in cognitive assessment to inspire the development of more effective, personalised interventions.

A Complexity Dichotomy in Spatial Reasoning via Ramsey Theory

Constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) for first-order reducts of finitely bounded homogeneous structures form a large class of computational problems that might exhibit a complexity dichotomy, P versus NP-complete. A powerful method to obtain polynomial-time tractability results for such CSPs is a certain reduction to polynomial-time tractable finite-domain CSPs defined over k -types, for a sufficiently large k . We give sufficient conditions when this method can be applied and apply these conditions to obtain a new complexity dichotomy for CSPs of first-order expansions of the basic relations of the well-studied spatial reasoning formalism RCC5. We also classify which of these CSPs can be expressed in Datalog. Our method relies on Ramsey theory; we prove that RCC5 has a Ramsey order expansion.

Virtual sketching-based dental anatomy module improves learners' abilities to use computer-aided design to create dental restorations and prostheses.

Dental anatomy education for dental technology students should be developed in alignment with digital dental laboratory practices. We hypothesized that a virtually assisted sketching-based dental anatomy teaching module could improve students' acquisition of skills essential for digital restoration design. The second-year dental technology curriculum included a novel virtual technology-assisted sketching-based module for dental anatomy education. Pre- and post-course assessments evaluated students' skill sets and knowledge bases. Computer-aided design (CAD) scores were analyzed after one year to assess how the skills students developed through this module impacted their subsequent CAD performance. Participants who undertook the dental sketching-based teaching module demonstrated significantly improved theoretical knowledge of dental anatomy, dental aesthetic perception, and spatial reasoning skills. A partial least squares structural equation model indicated that the positive effects of this module on subsequent CAD performance were indirectly mediated by dental aesthetic perception, spatial reasoning, and practice time. A virtually assisted sketching-based dental anatomy teaching module significantly improved students' acquisition of skills and knowledge and positively mediated dental technology students' CAD performance.

Person re-identification by utilizing hierarchical spatial relation reasoning

Deep learning-based methods have become increasingly popular in person re-identification (re-id) as they enhance the discriminative features while suppressing extraneous or irrelevant details. However, these methods face a potential limitation in overlooking the relationships between semantic regions focusing solely on salient features or pixel-level matching information. As a result, the model performance becomes susceptible to adverse factors such as pose variations, misalignment, and background clutter. To overcome this issue, we propose a novel deep relational learning network (DRLNet) that learns relationship knowledge between semantic regions and “local–global” information to improve discriminative feature learning effectively. We manually establish the relation between local regions using a simple partition strategy that captures global structural information and improves relation-aware attention learning. Dividing images into uniform partitions allows each part-level feature to represent itself and the entire image area, facilitating the learning of more refined and discerning relationships. Our approach's efficacy is evaluated on three datasets, where experimental results exhibit its superiority. Significantly, our approach achieves a new state-of-the-art Rank-1 accuracy of 84.7%, 80.9%, and 83.5% on CUHK03 (Labeled), CUHK03 (Detected), and MSMT17 datasets, respectively, outperforming current state-of-the-art methods. In conclusion, our proposed DRLNet demonstrates its potential as a highly effective solution to overcoming the limitations of deep learning-based methods by providing superior means of learning discriminative features while incorporating relationships between semantic regions.

The Impact of Stimulant Medication on the Relation Between Working Memory and Activity Level in ADHD.

There is a positive association between heightened activity levels and improved working memory performance (WM) in individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Recent research suggests that stimulant medications may have a simultaneous positive impact on WM and motor skills. Yet, it is unclear the specific connection between movement, WM, and stimulant use. We examined how visuospatial (VS) and phonological (PH) WM performance varied with children's stimulant medication usage and naturally occurring activity level. In a repeated measures design, children with ADHD (n = 43; 7-12years old) completed WM tasks while wearing actigraphy watches to monitor activity level on and off stimulant medication. Significant large sized main effects were observed for medication condition on PH (p < .05, ηp2 = .14) and VS (p < .001, ηp2 = .30) WM. Activity level also had significant medium sized main effects on PH (p < .01, ηp2 = .09) and VS (p < .005, ηp2 = .10) WM. There was a significant medium sized interaction for VS WM (p < .005, ηp2 = .11), indicating that the effect of medication on performance was greatest in the highest activity level category. The findings suggest that a combination of stimulant medication and an "optimal" level of movement may be most effective for improving VS WM.

The epistemic role of vividness

Abstract The vividness of mental imagery is epistemically relevant. Intuitively, vivid and intense memories are epistemically better than weak and hazy memories, and using a clear and precise mental image in the service of spatial reasoning is epistemically better than using a blurry and imprecise mental image. But how is vividness epistemically relevant? I argue that vividness is higher-order evidence about one’s epistemic state, rather than first-order evidence about the world. More specifically, the vividness of a mental image is higher-order evidence about the amount of first-order information one has about its subject matter. When vividness is sufficiently low, it can give one reason to doubt the epistemic basis of the mental image and thereby act as a defeater. This account has important implications for theorizing about the epistemic roles of memory, imagination, mental imagery and phenomenal consciousness.

TEACHING MATHEMATICS WITH VIRTUAL ROBOTS TO STUDENTS

The study introduces the case of development of mathematics oriented 20-h robotics course for students (n=50) with educational program of “6B01501 - Mathematics”. The research aimed at exploring the impact of robotics on students’ motivation and engagement by learning math using robotics activities. These activities include controlling virtual robots while learning Algebra concepts. Overall, the aim of practicing math using robots is to investigate the effectiveness of this approach to teaching math, and to identify ways to improve math education using technology. During the study, the researchers examined the global application of robotics and conducted a review of academic databases to collect relevant literature. The findings revealed a dearth of knowledge in the academic literature concerning this particular subject. The study was carried out for three months on the basis of NJSC "Zhetysu University named after Ilyas Zhansugurov" (Taldykorgan), during which the training program "Learning Mathematics with the help of robotics" was developed and tested. Example of lessons at roboblocky.com implemented by students presented in this article. Roboblocky is an educational platform that integrates robotics and programming to facilitate the instruction of mathematical and scientific concepts to students. The platform employs a block-based programming approach, which enhances the accessibility and comprehension of these concepts among students.Based on the available research, it can be concluded that teaching math with Roboblocky is a promising approach. Studies on using robotics to teach mathematics have shown that it can improve student engagement, achievement, problem-solving skills, and spatial reasoning. Additionally, the use of virtual robots in the classroom can promote positive attitudes towards learning among students

LLMs and Spatial Reasoning: Assessing Roadblocks and Providing Pathways to Improvement

In this paper, we show how relative location prompting can improve how Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT interact with Spatial Reasoning (SR) tasks. LLMs likely have difficulty with SR tasks due to being designed for language based tasks, whilst SR tasks are more visual (Lee, 2023). By reading papers on Self-Ask (Press et al., 2023) and Chain-of-thought (Jason Zhanshun Wei et al., 2022) and recognizing their success, we hypothesized that prompting techniques similar to the ones mentioned would be effective in increasing the success-rate of the LLM agent in our Spatial Reasoning task. Taking these two factors into account, the solution we came up with was to turn the multi-step interaction-based SR tasks into more simple tasks by prompting the AI agent with its relative location to the target location after each step taken. We set up a 2D 5x5 grid world environment to test the LLM agent against, and by setting up a separate environment which includes relative location prompting, as well as a random environment, we saw the difference between the three success-rates. We collected and analysed data of 300 trials total (100 trials on each of the 3 environments) to conclude that relative location prompting does improve the success rate of LLMs when tackling SR tasks. This showed that by converting SR tasks into text, and by breaking down large tasks into smaller tasks, AI can solve SR problems better. Future studies should investigate other types of SR tasks, such as folding scenarios, and test out different prompting methods to determine the best one.

Spatial Cognition and Learners’ Readiness toward STEM in Post-Pandemic

Spatial Cognition plays a very significant role towards the success of various scientific disciplines, as literature has demonstrated clearly that these skills are highly demanded for learning and pursuing STEM fields. This study was carried out to explore the level of spatial cognition among high school students and examine the learners' readiness towards STEM subjects. The study was descriptive and a quantitative research method was applied. A standardized tool was utilized to assess the spatial cognition of the students of the science group of grades 9 to 12th. 130 students from 13 to 18 years with an average age of 15.5 were administered the Mental Rotation Test (MRT) for measuring spatial cognition and readiness was measured through statements using a 5-point Likert scale. The results were analyzed using the SPSS-21 version. It was found that the majority of the students had low level of spatial cognition, which hindered their readiness regarding STEM in post-pandemic situations. There was a positive linear relationship between spatial cognition and readiness of the learners’ regarding STEM subjects. Moreover, it was concluded that there was a significant impact of spatial cognition on the readiness of the learners towards STEM. Therefore, it was recommended that the science curriculum should be designed in such a way that incorporates spatial reasoning skills among students. This study's findings serve as a baseline to attract the science educationists towards a challenging predictor.

How Do In-Car Navigation Aids Impair Expert Navigators’ Spatial Learning Ability?

Reliance on digital navigation aids has already shown negative impacts on navigators’ innate spatial abilities. How this happens is still an open research question. We report on an empirical study with twenty-four experienced (male) taxi drivers to evaluate the long-term impacts of in-car navigation system use on the spatial learning ability of these navigation experts. Specifically, we measured cognitive load by means of electroencephalography (EEG) coupled with eye tracking to assess their visuospatial attention allocation during a video-based route-following task while driving through an unknown urban environment. We found that long-term reliance on in-car navigation aids did not affect participants’ visual attention allocation during spatial learning but rather limited their ability to encode viewed geographic information into memory, which, in turn, led to greater cognitive load, especially along route segments between intersections. Participants with greater dependence on in-car navigation aids performed worse on the spatial knowledge tests. Our combined behavioral and neuropsychological findings provide evidence for the impairment of expert navigators’ spatial learning ability when exposed to long-term use of digital in-car navigation aids.

A Logical–Algebraic Approach to Revising Formal Ontologies: Application in Mereotopology

In ontology engineering, reusing (or extending) ontologies poses a significant challenge, requiring revising their ontological commitments and ensuring accurate representation and coherent reasoning. This study aims to address two main objectives. Firstly, it seeks to develop a methodological approach supporting ontology extension practices. Secondly, it aims to demonstrate its feasibility by applying the approach to the case of extending qualitative spatial reasoning (QSR) theories. Key questions involve effectively interpreting spatial extensions while maintaining consistency. The framework systematically analyzes extensions of formal ontologies, providing a reconstruction of a qualitative calculus. Reconstructed qualitative calculus demonstrates improved interpretative capabilities and reasoning accuracy. The research underscores the importance of methodological approaches when extending formal ontologies, with spatial interpretation serving as a valuable case study.

Enhanced agency and the visual thinking of design

Abstract Visual thinking is a systematic way to produce knowledge in design by means of mental imagery, spatial reasoning, and the use of an array of visual representations. Pictorial representations such as sketches are crucial for the activity of designing at the early stage of the creative process. Designers see more information in sketches than was actually drawn. The ability to see more information than is sketched out can be seen as an enhanced visual capacity of human agency. Enhanced agency is the prosthetic incorporation of artifacts to improve the original agentive capacities. The incorporation of artifacts to draw raises some fundamental questions: Is the pencil an extension of the mind? Can we think with our hands? What agentive capacities are increased with the use of the pencil? What is the representational status of sketching? The chapter is structured around these key questions to suggest some answers inspired by the work of Göran Sonesson. Using the notion of enhanced agency and the layered model of agency, I explore the way in which the pencil improves the visual thinking of design. In doing so I found that it is important to maintain the principle of asymmetry in cognitive systems to reconsider relational ontology in favor of ecological relationships.