Tracking the emergence of cognitive map in real-world environment
Poster No:
791
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Fengxiang Zhang1, Haoran Zhang1, Yi Pu2, Xiangzhen Kong1
Institutions:
1Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 2School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai
First Author:
Fengxiang Zhang
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University
Hangzhou, China
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University
Hangzhou, China
Co-Author(s):
Xiangzhen Kong, PhD Supervisor
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University
Hangzhou, China
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University
Hangzhou, China
Introduction:
Understanding how humans form and refine representations of real-world environments is a fundamental question in cognitive neuroscience. While significant progress has been made in identifying the neural substrates of spatial cognition, most studies have relied on virtual navigation tasks or highly controlled laboratory settings. As a result, little is known about how spatial representations of complex, real-world environments emerge and develop in the human brain over time. Furthermore, there is limited evidence on how individual differences, such as gender, influence cognitive map formation. Addressing these gaps is critical for understanding the dynamic processes that underlie the acquisition of cognitive maps in naturalistic settings.
In the present study, we employed a combination of behavioral tasks and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to track the development of spatial representations in a real-world environment.
In the present study, we employed a combination of behavioral tasks and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to track the development of spatial representations in a real-world environment.
Methods:
Two experiments were conducted, one cross-sectional and one longitudinal. For both experiments, participants were recruited from students residing on the Zijingang campus of Zhejiang University (approximately 2×2 km). The cross-sectional experiment included a total of 185 students who had lived on campus for varying durations. This group consisted of 40 freshmen (less than 6 weeks), 52 sophomores, 46 juniors, and 47 seniors (over 3 years). Participants completed a behavioral task in which they were required to place images of 22 campus landmarks at their corresponding locations on an outline map of the campus. Additionally, the freshmen and another 45 seniors participated in an fMRI experiment, where they viewed images of campus landmarks. In the longitudinal experiment, the freshmen cohort completed three follow-up behavioral tests after approximately 6, 8, and 25 weeks and two follow-up fMRI scans during the third and fourth occasions.
Two measures (distance error/Dist_Avg and distortion index/DI) of spatial representation accuracy were calculated using bidimensional regression on the behavioral task outputs. Representational similarity analysis (RSA) was performed on multivoxel activity patterns in brain regions within the navigation network (Zhang et al., 2023). Statistical analyses focused on the development of spatial representations of campus landmarks and potential influences of gender.
Two measures (distance error/Dist_Avg and distortion index/DI) of spatial representation accuracy were calculated using bidimensional regression on the behavioral task outputs. Representational similarity analysis (RSA) was performed on multivoxel activity patterns in brain regions within the navigation network (Zhang et al., 2023). Statistical analyses focused on the development of spatial representations of campus landmarks and potential influences of gender.
Results:
Freshmen showed the lowest accuracy in both Dist_Avg and DI, with performance significantly lower than that of the other groups. Sophomores performed at a level comparable to that of more senior students. Focusing on the first semester of freshmen, a rapid learning curve was observed, which closely followed an exponential trend. Specifically, significant improvements in both measures were found between the 1st and 2nd tests, as well as between the 2nd and 4th tests.
RSA revealed more accurate representations of campus landmarks within the navigation network in senior students compared to freshmen. The exposure-related increase in representation was most pronounced at the 2nd scan in general and continued to strengthen in specific brain regions (e.g., the parahippocampal gyrus) over the first semester. Together, these results suggest that young adults rapidly learn and develop spatial representations of complex real-world environments.
Moreover, significant gender differences in both behavioral measures were observed in freshmen, with no differences detected in more seniors. Within freshmen, these gender differences dismissed by the third tests. At the neural level, a significant male advantage was initially observed in several regions, including the parahippocampal gyrus; however, this advantage rapidly dismissed at the 3rd test (the 2nd scan).
RSA revealed more accurate representations of campus landmarks within the navigation network in senior students compared to freshmen. The exposure-related increase in representation was most pronounced at the 2nd scan in general and continued to strengthen in specific brain regions (e.g., the parahippocampal gyrus) over the first semester. Together, these results suggest that young adults rapidly learn and develop spatial representations of complex real-world environments.
Moreover, significant gender differences in both behavioral measures were observed in freshmen, with no differences detected in more seniors. Within freshmen, these gender differences dismissed by the third tests. At the neural level, a significant male advantage was initially observed in several regions, including the parahippocampal gyrus; however, this advantage rapidly dismissed at the 3rd test (the 2nd scan).
·Figure1
·Figure2
Conclusions:
Overall, this study provides a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between controlled navigation experiments and real-world spatial learning, offering new insights into the dynamic processes underlying the acquisition of cognitive maps in naturalistic settings.
Education, History and Social Aspects of Brain Imaging:
Education, History and Social Aspects of Brain Imaging
Higher Cognitive Functions:
Space, Time and Number Coding 1
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Activation (eg. BOLD task-fMRI) 2
Other Methods
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI
Keywords:
Cognition
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Other - cogntive map;real-world environment;gender difference
1|2Indicates the priority used for review