The effect of landmark visualization in mobile maps on brain activity during navigation: A virtual reality study

Cheng, Bingjie; Wunderlich, Anna; Gramann, Klaus; Lin, Enru; Fabrikant, Sara Irina

doi:10.3389/frvir.2022.981625

Cited by 18 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 131 publications

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“…This is consistent with previous studies showing that cognitive load in one task can affect cognitive load in another task (Bednar et al, 2012;Felisberti and Fernandes, 2022). This pattern of increased P3 amplitude in the 7-landmark condition is also consistent with blink-related P3 amplitude during the entire wayfinding phase, which comprised both navigation and map-consultation (Cheng et al, 2022b). Based on our findings, it seems that displaying five landmarks one by one along a route provides the best design for mobile maps.…”

Section: N2 and P3-cognitive Loadsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…To examine this interpretation, future work should employ an eye-tracker to analyze navigators' fixations on relevant or irrelevant stimuli in the environment (see section "Limitations and future work" for a more detailed discussion). Moreover, the current finding related to P3 amplitude is also consistent with the finding of a related paper (Cheng et al, 2022b), which analyzed cognitive load while participants viewed the mobile map (i.e., not while they were moving through the environment). Parieto-occipital P3 amplitude during map viewing was also more pronounced in the 7-landmark condition compared to the 3-and 5-landmark conditions (Cheng et al, 2022b).…”

Section: N2 and P3-cognitive Loadsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…To investigate how the number of landmarks shown on mobile maps can affect cognitive load and spatial learning, we selected three, five, and seven landmarks as a manipulation of low, medium, and high cognitive load conditions, respectively. A prior study by Cheng et al (2022b) found that landmark recognition and route direction memory improved when the number of presented landmarks increased from three to five , while learning performance did not increase further when seven landmarks were depicted on the mobile map. Moreover, our prior study assessed cognitive load while participants consulted maps across the three landmarks conditions (3 vs. 5 vs. 7 landmarks), and found that cognitive load during map consulting increased in the 7-landmark condition compared to the 3- and 5-landmark conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…The left, middle, and right panels depict the map condition with three, five, and seven landmarks displayed on the mobile map, respectively. The figure is adapted from Cheng et al (2022b). direction they took at the intersection with the associated landmark.…”

Section: Experimental Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…FIGURE 3The three panels depict how participants responded to the spatial learning tests in the CAVE using a 3D pointing device after navigation: (A) The landmark recognition test, (B) the route direction test, and (C) the JRD test, respectively. The figure is adapted fromCheng et al (2022b).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Using spontaneous eye blink-related brain activity to investigate cognitive load during mobile map-assisted navigation

Cheng

Lin²,

Wunderlich³

et al. 2023

Front. Neurosci.

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The continuous assessment of pedestrians’ cognitive load during a naturalistic mobile map-assisted navigation task is challenging because of limited experimental control over stimulus presentation, human-map-interactions, and other participant responses. To overcome this challenge, the present study takes advantage of navigators’ spontaneous eye blinks during navigation to serve as event markers in continuously recorded electroencephalography (EEG) data to assess cognitive load in a mobile map-assisted navigation task. We examined if and how displaying different numbers of landmarks (3 vs. 5 vs. 7) on mobile maps along a given route would influence navigators’ cognitive load during navigation in virtual urban environments. Cognitive load was assessed by the peak amplitudes of the blink-related fronto-central N2 and parieto-occipital P3. Our results show increased parieto-occipital P3 amplitude indicating higher cognitive load in the 7-landmark condition, compared to showing 3 or 5 landmarks. Our prior research already demonstrated that participants acquire more spatial knowledge in the 5- and 7-landmark conditions compared to the 3-landmark condition. Together with the current study, we find that showing 5 landmarks, compared to 3 or 7 landmarks, improved spatial learning without overtaxing cognitive load during navigation in different urban environments. Our findings also indicate a possible cognitive load spillover effect during map-assisted wayfinding whereby cognitive load during map viewing might have affected cognitive load during goal-directed locomotion in the environment or vice versa. Our research demonstrates that users’ cognitive load and spatial learning should be considered together when designing the display of future navigation aids and that navigators’ eye blinks can serve as useful event makers to parse continuous human brain dynamics reflecting cognitive load in naturalistic settings.

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Section: N2 and P3-cognitive Loadsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: N2 and P3-cognitive Loadsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Experimental Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Using spontaneous eye blink-related brain activity to investigate cognitive load during mobile map-assisted navigation

Cheng

Lin²,

Wunderlich³

et al. 2023

Front. Neurosci.

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Memory effects of visual and olfactory landmark information in human wayfinding

Schwarz,

Hamburger

2023

Cogn Process

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Non-human animals are exceptionally good at using smell to find their way through the environment. However, the use of olfactory cues for human navigation is often underestimated. Although the sense of smell is well-known for its distinct connection to memory and emotion, memory effects in human navigation using olfactory landmarks have not been studied yet. Therefore, this article compares wayfinding and recognition performance for visual and olfactory landmarks learned by 52 participants in a virtual maze. Furthermore, it is one of the first empirical studies investigating differences in memory effects on human navigation by using two separate test situations 1 month apart. The experimental task was to find the way through a maze-like virtual environment with either olfactory or visual cues at the intersections that served as decision points. Our descriptive results show that performance was above chance level for both conditions (visual and olfactory landmarks). Wayfinding performance did not decrease 1 month later when using olfactory landmarks. In contrast, when using visual landmarks wayfinding performance decreased significantly, while visual landmarks overall lead to better recognition than olfactory landmarks at both times of testing. The results demonstrate the unique character of human odor memory and support the conclusion that olfactory cues may be used in human spatial orientation. Furthermore, the present study expands the research field of human wayfinding by providing a study that investigates memory for landmark knowledge and route decisions for the visual and olfactory modality. However, more studies are required to put this important research strand forward.

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Towards neuroadaptive navigation assistance to reduce spatial de-skilling

Fabrikant

2024

Cogn Process

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Maps have been invaluable navigation aids for millennia and thus have been critical for human survival. The increasing popularity of and high dependence on digital, location-aware assistive navigation technology, however, has been shown to divert our attention from the environment and to negatively influence innate spatial abilities. To mitigate this, neuroadaptive mobile geographic information displays (namGIDs) are proposed that respond in real-time to navigators’ cognitive task demands and wayfinder’s situated visuo-spatial attention needs. In doing so, namGIDs may not only help navigators maintain navigation efficiency but more importantly, also continuously scaffold spatial learning. To do this, the proposed navigation assistance must strike the appropriate balance between welcomed mobility efficiency gains while limiting human spatial deskilling. Leveraging neuroadaptive cartography, we can ensure to remain effective navigators, empowered to explore the world with confidence.

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The effect of landmark visualization in mobile maps on brain activity during navigation: A virtual reality study

Cited by 18 publications

References 131 publications

Using spontaneous eye blink-related brain activity to investigate cognitive load during mobile map-assisted navigation

Using spontaneous eye blink-related brain activity to investigate cognitive load during mobile map-assisted navigation

Memory effects of visual and olfactory landmark information in human wayfinding

Towards neuroadaptive navigation assistance to reduce spatial de-skilling

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