Age differences in spatial memory are mitigated during naturalistic navigation

Spatial navigation deficits in older adults are well documented. These findings are based on experimental paradigms that require using a joystick or keyboard to navigate a virtual desktop environment. In the present study, cognitively normal young and older adults navigated in each of two virtual reality (VR) conditions: a desktop VR condition which required using a mouse and keyboard to navigate and an immersive and ambulatory VR condition which permitted unrestricted locomotion. Consistent with past studies, older adults navigated to target locations less precisely than did younger individuals in the desktop condition. These age differences were significantly attenuated when tested in the immersive environment. Additional analyses indicated that older adults showed a preference for route-based search strategies compared to young adults, regardless of condition. These findings suggest that certain aspects of navigation performance in older adults are improved in paradigms that offer a fuller range of enriched and naturalistic cues.

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