The influence of age in women in visuo-spatial memory in reaching and navigation tasks with and without landmarks

A. Perrochon (1) , A Mandigout (1) , S. Petruzzellis (2) , A Soria Garcia (1) , M. Zaoui (3) , A. Berthoz (4) , J.C. Daviet (1)

1 HAVAE - Handicap, Activité, Vieillissement, Autonomie, Environnement
2 PROJEKT, EA 7447 / Université de Nîmes
3 LPPA - Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception et de l'Action
4 CdF (institution) - Collège de France

Spatial memory and navigation capabilities tend to decline in normal aging, but few studies have assessed the impact of landmarks on route learning in a large-scale environment. The objectives were to examine age-related effects on visuo-spatial working memory capabilities in various environments and to determine the impact of landmarks in navigation skills in normal aging. 42 young women (23.6 ± 4.9 years) and 37 older women (70.7 ± 4.7 years) with no cognitive impairment have performed three visuo-spatial working memory tests: one in reaching space (computerized Corsi-Block-Tapping test) and two in locomotor navigation space (a condition without landmarks: Virtual Walking Corsi Test and a condition with landmarks: Virtual Room Walking Test). A two-way mixed ANOVA test showed that the young subjects performed better in all conditions than older subjects. The performance in visuo-spatial working memory thus decreases with age. Visuo-spatial working memory performances were identical in reaching and navigation spaces for both groups. The integration of landmarks into a navigational task decreases performance in older women, while this performance is not altered in younger women.

Mots clés: Aging; Corsi test; Landmark; Visuo-spatial memory; Navigation; Locomotion

Domaines: Sciences cognitives

A. Perrochon, A Mandigout, S. Petruzzellis, A Soria Garcia, M. Zaoui, et al.. The influence of age in women in visuo-spatial memory in reaching and navigation tasks with and without landmarks. Neuroscience Letters, 2018, 684, pp.13 - 17. ⟨10.1016/j.neulet.2018.06.054⟩. ⟨hal-01882872⟩