Path Learning in Individuals With Down Syndrome: The Floor Matrix Task and the Role of Individual Visuo-Spatial Measures

Meneghetti, Chiara; Toffalini, Enrico; Lanfranchi, Silvia; Carretti, Barbara

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2020.00107

Cited by 10 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 74 publications

(170 reference statements)

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“…We found that 84% of participants with DS could return to home consistently, only slightly fewer than the number of TD children (96%; the difference was not statistically significant). These results demonstrating relatively preserved egocentric capacities in DS are also in agreement with findings from a recent study showing that individuals with DS performed as well as MA-matched TD children in reproducing an egocentric 1-to 7-step route (consisting of sequential moves forward, right or left) on a 4 × 4 floor matrix comprising 16 squares of 50 cm × 50 cm separated by 10 cm gaps, after either studying a map of the route or observing an experimenter take the same route (Meneghetti et al, 2020). Specifically, individuals with DS were able to reproduce an average of 3.00 steps after visualizing the trajectory on a map, while MA-matched TD children reproduced an average of 3.53 steps.…”

Section: Comparison With Previous Studies In Individuals With Dssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In contrast, fewer studies have investigated the real-world spatial capacities of individuals with DS. In one study that assessed route learning, participants with DS performed as well as TD children, thus exhibiting similar or better performance than in virtual tasks (Meneghetti et al, 2020). In another study that assessed real-world allocentric spatial capacities, although participants with DS were impaired as compared to TD children at locating three reward locations in a paradigm that precluded the use of visual scene matching and egocentric spatial strategies, they were nonetheless capable of orienting in the arena using allocentric cues (Banta Lavenex et al, 2015), thus contradicting findings from virtual reality experiments.…”

Section: Real-world Spatial Capacitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Path Integration and Cognitive Mapping Capacities in Down and Williams Syndromes

et al. 2020

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Williams (WS) and Down (DS) syndromes are neurodevelopmental disorders with distinct genetic origins and different spatial memory profiles. In real-world spatial memory tasks, where spatial information derived from all sensory modalities is available, individuals with DS demonstrate low-resolution spatial learning capacities consistent with their mental age, whereas individuals with WS are severely impaired. However, because WS is associated with severe visuo-constructive processing deficits, it is unclear whether their impairment is due to abnormal visual processing or whether it reflects an inability to build a cognitive map. Here, we tested whether blindfolded individuals with WS or DS, and typically developing (TD) children with similar mental ages, could use path integration to perform an egocentric homing task and return to a starting point. We then evaluated whether they could take shortcuts and navigate along never-traveled trajectories between four objects while blindfolded, thus demonstrating the ability to build a cognitive map. In the homing task, 96% of TD children, 84% of participants with DS and 44% of participants with WS were able to use path integration to return to their starting point consistently. In the cognitive mapping task, 64% of TD children and 74% of participants with DS were able to take shortcuts and use never-traveled trajectories, the hallmark of cognitive mapping ability. In contrast, only one of eighteen participants with WS demonstrated the ability to build a cognitive map. These findings are consistent with the view that hippocampus-dependent spatial learning is severely impacted in WS, whereas it is relatively preserved in DS.

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Section: Comparison With Previous Studies In Individuals With Dssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Real-world Spatial Capacitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Path Integration and Cognitive Mapping Capacities in Down and Williams Syndromes

et al. 2020

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“…In the observation condition, both groups remembered sequences involving 3-4 steps, on average. These results are consistent with previous studies assessing individuals with DS on sequences of moves in vista space (with the Floor Matrix task; Meneghetti et al, 2020b) and TD 5-to 6-yearolds (with the Walking Corsi test; Piccardi et al, 2014a).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Floor Matrix Task (Adapted From Meneghetti et al, 2020b) A 4 × 4 matrix on the floor consists of 16 squares (of stiff cardboard), each 50 × 50 cm in size, placed with a 10 cm gap between them to form a square layout covering ∼2.3 × 2.3 m. The task involves receiving information about sequences of positions in the matrix and then reproducing the sequences in the same order. The information was presented in two conditions: in one, participants watched the examiner make a series of moves to complete the sequence (Observation); in the other, they were given verbal indications (Oral instructions).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Being egocentrically based, this approach could also shed light on the case of individuals with DS. Meneghetti et al ( 2020b ) recently compared individuals with DS and TD children matched on cognitive functioning on their ability in the Floor Matrix task, which involves learning increasingly long sequences of steps on a 4 × 4 matrix (2.3 × 2.3 m) in a regular-shaped grid. The sequence was either demonstrated by the experimenter (observation condition) or shown on a map (map condition), as even children 3–5 years old understand the representative function of maps (Frick and Newcombe, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Path Learning in Individuals With Down Syndrome: The Challenge of Learning Condition and Cognitive Abilities

et al. 2021

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Analyzing navigational abilities and related aspects in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is of considerable interest because of its relevance to everyday life. This study investigates path learning, the conditions favoring it, and the cognitive abilities involved. A group of 30 adults with DS and 32 typically-developing (TD) children matched on receptive vocabulary were shown a 4 × 4 Floor Matrix and asked to repeat increasingly long sequences of steps by walking on the grid. The sequences were presented under two learning conditions, one called Oral instructions (participants received verbal instructions such as “turn right” or “turn left”), the other Observation (participants watched the experimenter's moves). Participants were also assessed on verbal and visuospatial cognitive measures. The results showed a similarly better performance in both groups when the Floor Matrix task was administered in the Observation as opposed to the Oral instructions condition. As for the relation with cognitive abilities, in the Floor Matrix task in the Oral instructions condition, individuals with DS showed an effect of both verbal and visuospatial abilities, which was only positive for verbal ability. The effect of verbal and visuospatial abilities was negligible in the TD group. In the Observation condition, performance was predicted by sequential working memory in both groups. Overall, these results shed light on path learning in individuals with DS, showing that they benefited from the Observation condition, and that the involvement of their cognitive abilities depended on the learning condition.

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A Role for Visual Memory in Vocabulary Development: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Pickering

Peters

2022

Neuropsychol Rev

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Although attention and early associative learning in preverbal children is predominantly driven by rapid eye-movements in response to moving visual stimuli and sounds/words (e.g., associating the word “bottle” with the object), the literature examining the role of visual attention and memory in ongoing vocabulary development across childhood is limited. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis examined the association between visual memory and vocabulary development, including moderators such as age and task selection, in neurotypical children aged 2-to-12 years, from the brain-based perspective of cognitive neuroscience. Visual memory tasks were classified according to the visual characteristics of the stimuli and the neural networks known to preferentially process such information, including consideration of the distinction between the ventral visual stream (processing more static visuo-perceptual details, such as form or colour) and the more dynamic dorsal visual stream (processing spatial temporal action-driven information). Final classifications included spatio-temporal span tasks, visuo-perceptual or spatial concurrent array tasks, and executive judgment tasks. Visuo-perceptual concurrent array tasks, reliant on ventral stream processing, were moderately associated with vocabulary, while tasks measuring spatio-temporal spans, associated with dorsal stream processing, and executive judgment tasks (central executive), showed only weak correlations with vocabulary. These findings have important implications for health professionals and researchers interested in language, as they advocate for the development of more targeted language learning interventions that include specific and relevant aspects of visual processing and memory, such as ventral stream visuo-perceptual details (i.e., shape or colour).

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Path Learning in Individuals With Down Syndrome: The Floor Matrix Task and the Role of Individual Visuo-Spatial Measures

Cited by 10 publications

References 74 publications

Path Integration and Cognitive Mapping Capacities in Down and Williams Syndromes

Path Integration and Cognitive Mapping Capacities in Down and Williams Syndromes

Path Learning in Individuals With Down Syndrome: The Challenge of Learning Condition and Cognitive Abilities

A Role for Visual Memory in Vocabulary Development: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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