Some Components of Geometric Knowledge of Future Elementary School Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Debrenti, Edith

2016-01-01

Geometric experience, spatial representation, spatial visualization, understanding the world around us, and developing the ability of spatial reasoning are fundamental aims in the teaching of mathematics. (Freudenthal, 1972) Learning is a process which involves advancing from level to level. In primary school the focus is on the first two levels…

Spatial and Visual Reasoning: Do These Abilities Improve in First-Year Veterinary Medical Students Exposed to an Integrated Curriculum?

PubMed

Gutierrez, J Claudio; Chigerwe, Munashe; Ilkiw, Jan E; Youngblood, Patricia; Holladay, Steven D; Srivastava, Sakti

Spatial visualization ability refers to the human cognitive ability to form, retrieve, and manipulate mental models of spatial nature. Visual reasoning ability has been linked to spatial ability. There is currently limited information about how entry-level spatial and visual reasoning abilities may predict veterinary anatomy performance or may be enhanced with progression through the veterinary anatomy content in an integrated curriculum. The present study made use of two tests that measure spatial ability and one test that measures visual reasoning ability in veterinary students: Guay's Visualization of Views Test, adapted version (GVVT), the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices Test, short form (RavenT). The tests were given to the entering class of veterinary students during their orientation week and at week 32 in the veterinary medical curriculum. Mean score on the MRT significantly increased from 15.2 to 20.1, and on the RavenT significantly increased from 7.5 to 8.8. When females only were evaluated, results were similar to the total class outcome; however, all three tests showed significant increases in mean scores. A positive correlation between the pre- and post-test scores was found for all three tests. The present results should be considered preliminary at best for associating anatomic learning in an integrated curriculum with spatial and visual reasoning abilities. Other components of the curriculum, for instance histology or physiology, could also influence the improved spatial visualization and visual reasoning test scores at week 32.

Spatial ability of slow learners based on Hubert Maier theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Permatasari, I.; Pramudya, I.; Kusmayadi, T. A.

2018-03-01

Slow learners are children who have low learning achievement (under the average of normal children) in one or all of the academic field, but they are not classified as a mentally retarded children. Spatial ability developed according to age and level of knowledge possessed, both from the neighborhood and formal education. Analyzing the spatial ability of students is important for teachers, as an effort to improve the quality of learning for slow learners. Especially on the implementation of inclusion school which is developing in Indonesia. This research used a qualitative method and involved slow learner students as the subject. Based on the data analysis it was found the spatial ability of slow learners, there were: spatial perception, students were able to describe the other shape of object when its position changed; spatial visualisation, students were able to describe the materials that construct an object; mental rotation, students cannot describe the object being rotated; spatial relation, students cannot describe the relations of same objects; spatial orientation, students were able to describe object from the others perspective.

Effects of acute insulin-induced hypoglycemia on spatial abilities in adults with type 1 diabetes.

PubMed

Wright, Rohana J; Frier, Brian M; Deary, Ian J

2009-08-01

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of acute insulin-induced hypoglycemia on spatial cognitive abilities in adult humans with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Sixteen adults with type 1 diabetes underwent two counterbalanced experimental sessions: euglycemia (blood glucose 4.5 mmol/l [81 mg/dl]) and hypoglycemia (2.5 mmol/l [45 mg/dl]). Arterialized blood glucose levels were maintained using a hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp technique. During each session, subjects underwent detailed assessment of spatial abilities from the Kit of Factor-Referenced Cognitive Tests and two tests of general cognitive function. RESULTS Spatial ability performance deteriorated significantly during hypoglycemia. Results for the Hidden Patterns, Card Rotations, Paper Folding, and Maze Tracing tests were all impaired significantly (P < or = 0.001) during hypoglycemia, as were results for the Cube Comparisons Test (P = 0.03). The Map Memory Test was not significantly affected by hypoglycemia. CONCLUSIONS Hypoglycemia is a common side effect of insulin therapy in individuals with type 1 diabetes, and spatial abilities are of critical importance in day-to-day functioning. The deterioration in spatial abilities observed during modest experimental hypoglycemia provides novel information on the cerebral hazards of hypoglycemia that has potential relevance to everyday activities.

Window Presentation Styles and User's Spatial Ability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bastecki, Victoria L.; Berry, Louis H.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of spatial ability level and window presentation style of tiled and overlapped computer displays on the achievement of dental hygiene students. Participants were 43 first-term Dental Hygiene students enrolled full-time at a University School of Dental Medicine. Phase one of this project…

Spatial task performance, sex differences, and motion sickness susceptibility.

PubMed

Levine, Max E; Stern, Robert M

2002-10-01

There are substantial individual differences in susceptibility to motion sickness, yet little is known about what mediates these differences. Spatial ability and sex have been suggested as possible factors in this relationship. 89 participants (57 women) were administered a Motion Sickness Questionnaire that assesses motion sickness susceptibility, a Water-level Task that gauges sensitivity to gravitational upright, and a Mental Rotation Task that tests an individual's awareness of how objects typically move in space. Significant sex differences were observed in performance of both the Water-level Task (p<.01), and the Mental Rotation Task (p<.005), with women performing less accurately than men. Women also had significantly higher scores on the Motion Sickness Questionnaire (p<.005). Among men, but not women, significant negative relationships were observed between Water-level Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score (p<.001) and between Mental Rotation Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score (p<.005). In conclusion, women performed significantly more poorly than men did on the spatial ability tasks and reported significantly more bouts of motion sickness. In addition, men showed a significant negative relationship between spatial ability and motion sickness susceptibility.

Spatial Reasoning and Understanding the Particulate Nature of Matter: A Middle School Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, Merryn L.

This dissertation employed a mixed-methods approach to examine the relationship between spatial reasoning ability and understanding of chemistry content for both middle school students and their science teachers. Spatial reasoning has been linked to success in learning STEM subjects (Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009). Previous studies have shown a correlation between understanding of chemistry content and spatial reasoning ability (e.g., Pribyl & Bodner, 1987; Wu & Shah, 2003: Stieff, 2013), raising the importance of developing the spatial reasoning ability of both teachers and students. Few studies examine middle school students' or in-service middle school teachers' understanding of chemistry concepts or its relation to spatial reasoning ability. The first paper in this dissertation addresses the quantitative relationship between mental rotation, a type of spatial reasoning ability, and understanding a fundamental concept in chemistry, the particulate nature of matter. The data showed a significant, positive correlation between scores on the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test of Rotations (PSVT; Bodner & Guay, 1997) and the Particulate Nature of Matter Assessment (ParNoMA; Yezierski, 2003) for middle school students prior to and after chemistry instruction. A significant difference in spatial ability among students choosing different answer choices on ParNoMA questions was also found. The second paper examined the ways in which students of different spatial abilities talked about matter and chemicals differently. Students with higher spatial ability tended to provide more of an explanation, though not necessarily in an articulate matter. In contrast, lower spatial ability students tended to use any keywords that seemed relevant, but provided little or no explanation. The third paper examined the relationship between mental reasoning and understanding chemistry for middle school science teachers. Similar to their students, a significant, positive correlation between scores on the PSVT and the ParNoMA was observed. Teachers who used consistent reasoning in providing definitions and examples for matter and chemistry tended to have higher spatial abilities than those teachers who used inconsistent reasoning on the same questions. This is the first study to explore the relationship between spatial reasoning and understanding of chemistry concepts at the middle school level. Though we are unable to infer cause and effect relationship from correlational data, these results illustrate a need to further investigate this relationship as well as identify the relationship between different spatial abilities (not just mental rotation) and other chemistry concepts.

Predicting space telerobotic operator training performance from human spatial ability assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Andrew M.; Oman, Charles M.; Galvan, Raquel; Natapoff, Alan

2013-11-01

Our goal was to determine whether existing tests of spatial ability can predict an astronaut's qualification test performance after robotic training. Because training astronauts to be qualified robotics operators is so long and expensive, NASA is interested in tools that can predict robotics performance before training begins. Currently, the Astronaut Office does not have a validated tool to predict robotics ability as part of its astronaut selection or training process. Commonly used tests of human spatial ability may provide such a tool to predict robotics ability. We tested the spatial ability of 50 active astronauts who had completed at least one robotics training course, then used logistic regression models to analyze the correlation between spatial ability test scores and the astronauts' performance in their evaluation test at the end of the training course. The fit of the logistic function to our data is statistically significant for several spatial tests. However, the prediction performance of the logistic model depends on the criterion threshold assumed. To clarify the critical selection issues, we show how the probability of correct classification vs. misclassification varies as a function of the mental rotation test criterion level. Since the costs of misclassification are low, the logistic models of spatial ability and robotic performance are reliable enough only to be used to customize regular and remedial training. We suggest several changes in tracking performance throughout robotics training that could improve the range and reliability of predictive models.

The Effectiveness of Interacting with Scientific Animations in Chemistry Using Mobile Devices on Grade 12 Students' Spatial Ability and Scientific Reasoning Skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.; Al-Musawi, Ali S.; Ambusaidi, Abdullah K.; Al-Hajri, Fatemah H.

2017-02-01

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of interacting with animations using mobile devices on grade 12 students' spatial and reasoning abilities. The study took place in a grade 12 context in Oman. A quasi-experimental design was used with an experimental group of 32 students and a control group of 28 students. The experimental group studied chemistry using mobile tablets that had a digital instructional package with different animation and simulations. There was one tablet per student. A spatial ability test and a scientific reasoning test were administered to both groups prior and after the study, which lasted for 9 weeks. The findings showed that there were significant statistical differences between the two groups in terms of spatial ability in favour of the experimental group. However, there were no differences between the two groups in terms of reasoning ability. The authors reasoned that the types of animations and simulations used in the current study featured a wide range of three-dimensional animated illustrations at the particulate level of matter. Most probably, this decreased the level of abstractness that usually accompanies chemical entities and phenomena and helped the students to visualize the interactions between submicroscopic entities spatially. Further research is needed to decide on types of scientific animations that could help students improve their scientific reasoning.

Cabri 3D - assisted collaborative learning to enhance junior high school students’ spatial ability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muntazhimah; Miatun, A.

2018-01-01

The main purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the enhancement of spatial ability of junior high school students who learned through Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning. The methodology of this study was the nonequivalent group that was conducted to students of the eighth grade in a junior high school as a population. Samples consisted one class of the experimental group who studied with Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning and one class as a control group who got regular learning activity. The instrument used in this study was a spatial ability test. Analyzing normalized gain of students’ spatial ability based on mathemathical prior knowledge (MPK) and its interactions was tested by two-way ANOVA at a significance level of 5% then continued with using Post Hoc Scheffe test. The research results showed that there was significant difference in enhancement of the spatial ability between students who learnt with Cabri 3D assisted collaborative learning and students who got regular learning, there was significant difference in enhancement of the spatial ability between students who learnt with cabri 3D assisted collaborative learning and students who got regular learning in terms of MPK and there is no significant interaction between learning (Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning and regular learning) with students’ MPK (high, medium, and low) toward the enhancement of students’ spatial abilities. From the above findings, it can be seen that cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning could enhance spatial ability of junior high school students.

Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls.

PubMed

Merrill, Edward C; Yang, Yingying; Roskos, Beverly; Steele, Sara

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported sex differences in wayfinding performance among adults. Men are typically better at using Euclidean information and survey strategies while women are better at using landmark information and route strategies. However, relatively few studies have examined sex differences in wayfinding in children. This research investigated relationships between route learning performance and two general abilities: spatial ability and verbal memory in 153 boys and girls between 6- to 12-years-old. Children completed a battery of spatial ability tasks (a two-dimension mental rotation task, a paper folding task, a visuo-spatial working memory task, and a Piagetian water level task) and a verbal memory task. In the route learning task, they had to learn a route through a series of hallways presented via computer. Boys had better overall route learning performance than did girls. In fact, the difference between boys and girls was constant across the age range tested. Structural equation modeling of the children's performance revealed that spatial abilities and verbal memory were significant contributors to route learning performance. However, there were different patterns of correlates for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities contributed to route learning while verbal memory did not. In contrast, for girls both spatial abilities and verbal memory contributed to their route learning performance. This difference may reflect the precursor of a strategic difference between boys and girls in wayfinding that is commonly observed in adults.

The Effect of Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Abilities on the Development of Knowledge of the Earth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kikas, Eve

2006-01-01

Difficulties in students' understanding of the spherical model of the Earth have been shown in previous studies. One of the reasons for these difficulties lies in beliefs and preliminary knowledge that hinder the interpretation of the scientific knowledge, the other reason may lie in the low level of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities. The study…

Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls

PubMed Central

Merrill, Edward C.; Yang, Yingying; Roskos, Beverly; Steele, Sara

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported sex differences in wayfinding performance among adults. Men are typically better at using Euclidean information and survey strategies while women are better at using landmark information and route strategies. However, relatively few studies have examined sex differences in wayfinding in children. This research investigated relationships between route learning performance and two general abilities: spatial ability and verbal memory in 153 boys and girls between 6- to 12-years-old. Children completed a battery of spatial ability tasks (a two-dimension mental rotation task, a paper folding task, a visuo-spatial working memory task, and a Piagetian water level task) and a verbal memory task. In the route learning task, they had to learn a route through a series of hallways presented via computer. Boys had better overall route learning performance than did girls. In fact, the difference between boys and girls was constant across the age range tested. Structural equation modeling of the children’s performance revealed that spatial abilities and verbal memory were significant contributors to route learning performance. However, there were different patterns of correlates for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities contributed to route learning while verbal memory did not. In contrast, for girls both spatial abilities and verbal memory contributed to their route learning performance. This difference may reflect the precursor of a strategic difference between boys and girls in wayfinding that is commonly observed in adults. PMID:26941701

The Importance of Spatial Reasoning Skills in Undergraduate Geology Students and the Effect of Weekly Spatial Skill Trainings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gold, Anne; Pendergast, Philip; Stempien, Jennifer; Ormand, Carol

2016-04-01

Spatial reasoning is a key skill for student success in STEM disciplines in general and for students in geosciences in particular. However, spatial reasoning is neither explicitly trained, nor evenly distributed, among students and by gender. This uneven playing field allows some students to perform geoscience tasks easily while others struggle. A lack of spatial reasoning skills has been shown to be a barrier to success in the geosciences, and for STEM disciplines in general. Addressing spatial abilities early in the college experience might therefore be effective in retaining students, especially females, in STEM disciplines. We have developed and implemented a toolkit for testing and training undergraduate student spatial reasoning skills in the classroom. In the academic year 2014/15, we studied the distribution of spatial abilities in more than 700 undergraduate Geology students from 4 introductory and 2 upper level courses. Following random assignment, four treatment groups received weekly online training and intermittent hands-on trainings in spatial thinking while four control groups only participated in a pre- and a posttest of spatial thinking skills. In this presentation we summarize our results and describe the distribution of spatial skills in undergraduate students enrolled in geology courses. We first discuss the factors that best account for differences in baseline spatial ability levels, including general intelligence (using standardized test scores as a proxy), major, video gaming, and other childhood play experiences, which help to explain the gender gap observed in most research. We found a statistically significant improvement of spatial thinking still with large effect sizes for the students who received the weekly trainings. Self-report data further shows that students improve their spatial thinking skills and report that their improved spatial thinking skills increase their performance in geoscience courses. We conclude by discussing the effects of the training modules on development of spatial skills, which helps to shed light on what types of interventions may be useful in leveling the playing field for students going into the geosciences and other STEM fields.

Promotion of Spatial Skills in Chemistry and Biochemistry Education at the College Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver-Hoyo, Maria; Babilonia-Rosa, Melissa A.

2017-01-01

Decades of research have demonstrated the correlation of spatial abilities to chemistry achievement and career selection. Nonetheless, reviews have highlighted the need and scarcity of explicit spatial instruction to promote spatial skills. Therefore, the goal of this literature review is to summarize what has been done during the past decade in…

Effective Teaching Strategies for Gifted/Learning-Disabled Students with Spatial Strengths

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Rebecca L.

2006-01-01

This study sought to determine effective teaching strategies for use with high-ability students who have spatial strengths and sequential weaknesses. Gifted students with spatial strengths and weak verbal skills often struggle in the traditional classroom. Their learning style enables them to grasp complex systems and excel at higher levels of…

The reduced serum free triiodothyronine and increased dorsal hippocampal SNAP-25 and Munc18-1 had existed in middle-aged CD-1 mice with mild spatial cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Cao, Lei; Jiang, Wei; Wang, Fang; Yang, Qi-Gang; Wang, Chao; Chen, Yong-Ping; Chen, Gui-Hai

2013-12-02

Changes of synaptic proteins in highlighted brain regions and decreased serum thyroid hormones (THs) have been implied in age-related learning and memory decline. Previously, we showed significant pairwise correlations among markedly impaired spatial learning and memory ability, decreased serum free triiodothyronine (FT3) and increased hippocampal SNAP-25 and Munc18-1 in old Kunming mice. However, whether these changes and the correlations occur in middle-age mice remains unclear. Since this age is one of the best stages to study age-related cognitive decline, we explored the spatial learning and memory ability, serum THs, cerebral SNAP-25 and Munc18-1 levels and their relationships of middle-aged mice in this study. The learning and memory abilities of 35 CD-1 mice (19 mice aged 6 months and 16 mice aged 12 months) were measured with a radial six-arm water maze (RAWM). The SNAP-25 and Munc18-1 levels were semi-quantified by Western blotting and the serum THs were detected by radioimmunoassay. The results showed the middle-aged mice had decreased serum FT3, increased dorsal hippocampal (DH) SNAP-25 and Munc18-1, and many or long number of errors and latency in both learning and memory phases of the RAWM. The Pearson's correlation test showed that the DH SANP-25 and Munc18-1 levels were positively correlated with the number of errors and latency in learning phases of the RAWM. Meanwhile, the DH SANP-25 and Munc18-1 levels negatively correlated with the serum FT3 level. These results suggested that reduced FT3 with increased DH SNAP-25 and Munc18-1 levels might be involved in the spatial learning ability decline in the middle-aged mice. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Patterned-string tasks: relation between fine motor skills and visual-spatial abilities in parrots.

PubMed

Krasheninnikova, Anastasia

2013-01-01

String-pulling and patterned-string tasks are often used to analyse perceptual and cognitive abilities in animals. In addition, the paradigm can be used to test the interrelation between visual-spatial and motor performance. Two Australian parrot species, the galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) and the cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), forage on the ground, but only the galah uses its feet to manipulate food. I used a set of string pulling and patterned-string tasks to test whether usage of the feet during foraging is a prerequisite for solving the vertical string pulling problem. Indeed, the two species used techniques that clearly differed in the extent of beak-foot coordination but did not differ in terms of their success in solving the string pulling task. However, when the visual-spatial skills of the subjects were tested, the galahs outperformed the cockatiels. This supports the hypothesis that the fine motor skills needed for advanced beak-foot coordination may be interrelated with certain visual-spatial abilities needed for solving patterned-string tasks. This pattern was also found within each of the two species on the individual level: higher motor abilities positively correlated with performance in patterned-string tasks. This is the first evidence of an interrelation between visual-spatial and motor abilities in non-mammalian animals.

A Correlational Study of Seven Projective Spatial Structures with Regard to the Phases of the MOON^

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wellner, Karen Linette

1995-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between projective spatial structures and the ability to construct a scientific model. In addition, gender-related performance and the influence of prior astronomy experience on task success were evaluated. Sixty-one college science undergraduates were individually administered Piagetian tasks to assess for projective spatial structures and the ability to set up a phases of the moon model. The spatial tasks included: (a) Mountains task (coordination of perspectives); (b) Railroad task (size and intervals of objects with increasing distance); (c) Telephone Poles task (masking and ordering objects); and (d) Shadows task (spatial relationships between an object and its shadow, dependent upon the object's orientation). Cramer coefficient analyses indicated that significant relationships existed between Moon task and spatial task success. In particular, the Shadows task, requiring subjects to draw shadows of objects in different orientations, proved most difficult and was most strongly associated with with a subject's understanding of lunar phases. Chi-square tests for two independent samples were used to analyze gender performance differences on each of the Ave tasks. Males performed significantly better at a.05 significance level in regard to the Shadows task and the Moon task. Chi-square tests for two independent samples showed no significant difference in Moon task performance between subjects with astronomy or Earth science coursework, and those without such science classroom experience. Overall, only six subjects passed all seven projective spatial structure tasks. Piaget (1967) contends that concrete -operational spatial structures must be established before an individual is able to develop formal-operational patterns of thinking. The results of this study indicate that 90% of the interviewed science majors are still operating at the concrete-operational level. Several educational implications were drawn from this study: (1) The teaching of spatially dependent content to students without prerequisite spatial structures results in understanding no further beyond that which can be memorized; (2) assessment for projective spatial structures should precede science lessons dealing with time-space relationships, and (3) a student's level of spatial ability may directly impact upon interpretation of three-dimensional models.

Spatial Skill Profile of Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putri, R. O. E.

2018-01-01

This study is aimed to investigate the spatial intelligence of mathematics pre-service teachers and find the best instructional strategy that facilitates this aspect. Data were collected from 35 mathematics pre-service teachers. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test (PSVT) was used to identify the spatial skill of mathematics pre-service teachers. Statistical analysis indicate that more than 50% of the participants possessed spatial skill in intermediate level, whereas the other were in high and low level of spatial skill. The result also shows that there is a positive correlation between spatial skill and mathematics ability, especially in geometrical problem solving. High spatial skill students tend to have better mathematical performance compare to those in two other levels. Furthermore, qualitative analysis reveals that most students have difficulty in manipulating geometrical objects mentally. This problem mostly appears in intermediate and low-level spatial skill students. The observation revealed that 3-D geometrical figures is the best method that can overcome the mentally manipulation problem and develop the spatial visualization. Computer application can also be used to improve students’ spatial skill.

Playing an action video game reduces gender differences in spatial cognition.

PubMed

Feng, Jing; Spence, Ian; Pratt, Jay

2007-10-01

We demonstrate a previously unknown gender difference in the distribution of spatial attention, a basic capacity that supports higher-level spatial cognition. More remarkably, we found that playing an action video game can virtually eliminate this gender difference in spatial attention and simultaneously decrease the gender disparity in mental rotation ability, a higher-level process in spatial cognition. After only 10 hr of training with an action video game, subjects realized substantial gains in both spatial attention and mental rotation, with women benefiting more than men. Control subjects who played a non-action game showed no improvement. Given that superior spatial skills are important in the mathematical and engineering sciences, these findings have practical implications for attracting men and women to these fields.

Effects of complex aural stimuli on mental performance.

PubMed

Vij, Mohit; Aghazadeh, Fereydoun; Ray, Thomas G; Hatipkarasulu, Selen

2003-06-01

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of complex aural stimuli on mental performance. A series of experiments were designed to obtain data for two different analyses. The first analysis is a "Stimulus" versus "No-stimulus" comparison for each of the four dependent variables, i.e. quantitative ability, reasoning ability, spatial ability and memory of an individual, by comparing the control treatment with the rest of the treatments. The second set of analysis is a multi-variant analysis of variance for component level main effects and interactions. The two component factors are tempo of the complex aural stimuli and sound volume level, each administered at three discrete levels for all four dependent variables. Ten experiments were conducted on eleven subjects. It was found that complex aural stimuli influence the quantitative and spatial aspect of the mind, while the reasoning ability was unaffected by the stimuli. Although memory showed a trend to be worse with the presence of complex aural stimuli, the effect was statistically insignificant. Variation in tempo and sound volume level of an aural stimulus did not significantly affect the mental performance of an individual. The results of these experiments can be effectively used in designing work environments.

The Effect of Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Abilities on the Development of Knowledge of the Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kikas, Eve

2006-09-01

Difficulties in students’ understanding of the spherical model of the Earth have been shown in previous studies. One of the reasons for these difficulties lies in beliefs and preliminary knowledge that hinder the interpretation of the scientific knowledge, the other reason may lie in the low level of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities. The study aims to investigate the effect of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities, but also that of preliminary knowledge on the later development of the knowledge of the Earth in school. 176 schoolchildren (96 boys and 80 girls) from five schools were tested; the mean age of the children during the first interview was seven years and eight months. All students were interviewed twice in grades 1 and 2, before and after they had learnt the topic in school. Factual, scientific and synthetic knowledge was assessed. The facilitative effect of visuo-spatial and verbal abilities and preliminary factual and scientific knowledge on students’ knowledge of astronomy after having learnt the topic in school was shown. In contrast, the hindering effect of synthetic knowledge was not found.

Discrimination performance in aging is vulnerable to interference and dissociable from spatial memory

PubMed Central

Johnson, Sarah A.; Sacks, Patricia K.; Turner, Sean M.; Gaynor, Leslie S.; Ormerod, Brandi K.; Maurer, Andrew P.; Bizon, Jennifer L.

2016-01-01

Hippocampal-dependent episodic memory and stimulus discrimination abilities are both compromised in the elderly. The reduced capacity to discriminate between similar stimuli likely contributes to multiple aspects of age-related cognitive impairment; however, the association of these behaviors within individuals has never been examined in an animal model. In the present study, young and aged F344×BN F1 hybrid rats were cross-characterized on the Morris water maze test of spatial memory and a dentate gyrus-dependent match-to-position test of spatial discrimination ability. Aged rats showed overall impairments relative to young in spatial learning and memory on the water maze task. Although young and aged learned to apply a match-to-position response strategy in performing easy spatial discriminations within a similar number of trials, a majority of aged rats were impaired relative to young in performing difficult spatial discriminations on subsequent tests. Moreover, all aged rats were susceptible to cumulative interference during spatial discrimination tests, such that error rate increased on later trials of test sessions. These data suggest that when faced with difficult discriminations, the aged rats were less able to distinguish current goal locations from those of previous trials. Increasing acetylcholine levels with donepezil did not improve aged rats’ abilities to accurately perform difficult spatial discriminations or reduce their susceptibility to interference. Interestingly, better spatial memory abilities were not significantly associated with higher performance on difficult spatial discriminations. This observation, along with the finding that aged rats made more errors under conditions in which interference was high, suggests that match-to-position spatial discrimination performance may rely on extra-hippocampal structures such as the prefrontal cortex, in addition to the dentate gyrus. PMID:27317194

On Spatially Explicit Models of Epidemic and Endemic Cholera: The Haiti and Lake Kivu Case Studies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rinaldo, A.; Bertuzzo, E.; Mari, L.; Finger, F.; Casagrandi, R.; Gatto, M.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.

2014-12-01

The first part of the Lecture deals with the predictive ability of mechanistic models for the Haitian cholera epidemic. Predictive models of epidemic cholera need to resolve at suitable aggregation levels spatial data pertaining to local communities, epidemiological records, hydrologic drivers, waterways, patterns of human mobility and proxies of exposure rates. A formal model comparison framework provides a quantitative assessment of the explanatory and predictive abilities of various model settings with different spatial aggregation levels. Intensive computations and objective model comparisons show that parsimonious spatially explicit models accounting for spatial connections have superior explanatory power than spatially disconnected ones for short-to intermediate calibration windows. In general, spatially connected models show better predictive ability than disconnected ones. We suggest limits and validity of the various approaches and discuss the pathway towards the development of case-specific predictive tools in the context of emergency management. The second part deals with approaches suitable to describe patterns of endemic cholera. Cholera outbreaks have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the 1970s. Here we employ a spatially explicit, inhomogeneous Markov chain model to describe cholera incidence in eight health zones on the shore of lake Kivu. Remotely sensed datasets of chlorophyll a concentration in the lake, precipitation and indices of global climate anomalies are used as environmental drivers in addition to baseline seasonality. The effect of human mobility is also modelled mechanistically. We test several models on a multi-year dataset of reported cholera cases. Fourteen models, accounting for different environmental drivers, are selected in calibration. Among these, the one accounting for seasonality, El Nino Southern Oscillation, precipitation and human mobility outperforms the others in cross-validation.

Spatial Attention Modulates the Precedence Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

London, Sam; Bishop, Christopher W.; Miller, Lee M.

2012-01-01

Communication and navigation in real environments rely heavily on the ability to distinguish objects in acoustic space. However, auditory spatial information is often corrupted by conflicting cues and noise such as acoustic reflections. Fortunately the brain can apply mechanisms at multiple levels to emphasize target information and mitigate such…

The importance of spatial ability and mental models in learning anatomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Allison K.

As a foundational course in medical education, gross anatomy serves to orient medical and veterinary students to the complex three-dimensional nature of the structures within the body. Understanding such spatial relationships is both fundamental and crucial for achievement in gross anatomy courses, and is essential for success as a practicing professional. Many things contribute to learning spatial relationships; this project focuses on a few key elements: (1) the type of multimedia resources, particularly computer-aided instructional (CAI) resources, medical students used to study and learn; (2) the influence of spatial ability on medical and veterinary students' gross anatomy grades and their mental models; and (3) how medical and veterinary students think about anatomy and describe the features of their mental models to represent what they know about anatomical structures. The use of computer-aided instruction (CAI) by gross anatomy students at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) was assessed through a questionnaire distributed to the regional centers of the IUSM. Students reported using internet browsing, PowerPoint presentation software, and email on a daily bases to study gross anatomy. This study reveals that first-year medical students at the IUSM make limited use of CAI to study gross anatomy. Such studies emphasize the importance of examining students' use of CAI to study gross anatomy prior to development and integration of electronic media into the curriculum and they may be important in future decisions regarding the development of alternative learning resources. In order to determine how students think about anatomical relationships and describe the features of their mental models, personal interviews were conducted with select students based on students' ROT scores. Five typologies of the characteristics of students' mental models were identified and described: spatial thinking, kinesthetic approach, identification of anatomical structures, problem solving strategies, and study methods. Students with different levels of spatial ability visualize and think about anatomy in qualitatively different ways, which is reflected by the features of their mental models. Low spatial ability students thought about and used two-dimensional images from the textbook. They possessed basic two-dimensional models of anatomical structures; they placed emphasis on diagrams and drawings in their studies; and they re-read anatomical problems many times before answering. High spatial ability students thought fully in three-dimensional and imagined rotation and movement of the structures; they made use of many types of images and text as they studied and solved problems. They possessed elaborate three-dimensional models of anatomical structures which they were able to manipulate to solve problems; and they integrated diagrams, drawings, and written text in their studies. Middle spatial ability students were a mix between both low and high spatial ability students. They imagined two-dimensional images popping out of the flat paper to become more three-dimensional, but still relied on drawings and diagrams. Additionally, high spatial ability students used a higher proportion of anatomical terminology than low spatial ability or middle spatial ability students. This provides additional support to the premise that high spatial students' mental models are a complex mixture of imagistic representations and propositional representations that incorporate correct anatomical terminology. Low spatial ability students focused on the function of structures and ways to group information primarily for the purpose of recall. This supports the theory that low spatial students' mental models will be characterized by more on imagistic representations that are general in nature. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Abstract Spatial Reasoning as an Autistic Strength

PubMed Central

Stevenson, Jennifer L.; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann

2013-01-01

Autistic individuals typically excel on spatial tests that measure abstract reasoning, such as the Block Design subtest on intelligence test batteries and the Raven’s Progressive Matrices nonverbal test of intelligence. Such well-replicated findings suggest that abstract spatial processing is a relative and perhaps absolute strength of autistic individuals. However, previous studies have not systematically varied reasoning level – concrete vs. abstract – and test domain – spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal, which the current study did. Autistic participants (N = 72) and non-autistic participants (N = 72) completed a battery of 12 tests that varied by reasoning level (concrete vs. abstract) and domain (spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal). Autistic participants outperformed non-autistic participants on abstract spatial tests. Non-autistic participants did not outperform autistic participants on any of the three domains (spatial, numerical, and verbal) or at either of the two reasoning levels (concrete and abstract), suggesting similarity in abilities between autistic and non-autistic individuals, with abstract spatial reasoning as an autistic strength. PMID:23533615

Distinctive signatures of recursion.

PubMed

Martins, Maurício Dias

2012-07-19

Although recursion has been hypothesized to be a necessary capacity for the evolution of language, the multiplicity of definitions being used has undermined the broader interpretation of empirical results. I propose that only a definition focused on representational abilities allows the prediction of specific behavioural traits that enable us to distinguish recursion from non-recursive iteration and from hierarchical embedding: only subjects able to represent recursion, i.e. to represent different hierarchical dependencies (related by parenthood) with the same set of rules, are able to generalize and produce new levels of embedding beyond those specified a priori (in the algorithm or in the input). The ability to use such representations may be advantageous in several domains: action sequencing, problem-solving, spatial navigation, social navigation and for the emergence of conventionalized communication systems. The ability to represent contiguous hierarchical levels with the same rules may lead subjects to expect unknown levels and constituents to behave similarly, and this prior knowledge may bias learning positively. Finally, a new paradigm to test for recursion is presented. Preliminary results suggest that the ability to represent recursion in the spatial domain recruits both visual and verbal resources. Implications regarding language evolution are discussed.

Predicting student performance in sonographic scanning using spatial ability as an ability determinent of skill acquisition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clem, Douglas Wayne

Spatial ability refers to an individual's capacity to visualize and mentally manipulate three dimensional objects. Since sonographers manually manipulate 2D and 3D sonographic images to generate multi-viewed, logical, sequential renderings of an anatomical structure, it can be assumed that spatial ability is central to the perception and interpretation of these medical images. Using Ackerman's theory of ability determinants of skilled performance as a conceptual framework, this study explored the relationship of spatial ability and learning sonographic scanning. Beginning first year sonography students from four different educational institutions were administered a spatial abilities test prior to their initial scanning lab coursework. The students' spatial test scores were compared with their scanning competency performance scores. A significant relationship between the students' spatial ability scores and their scanning performance scores was found. This result suggests that the use of spatial ability tests for admission to sonography programs may improve candidate selection, as well as assist programs in adjusting instruction and curriculum for students who demonstrate low spatial ability.

Spatial ability as a predictor of math achievement: the importance of sex and handedness patterns.

PubMed

Casey, M B; Pezaris, E; Nuttall, R L

1992-01-01

In accordance with major theories of handedness and brain organization, differential predictors for math achievement were found as a function of sex and handedness subgroups among eighth graders. Although there was no difference in absolute levels of performance as a function of either sex or handedness, predictive structures did differ. Regression analyses showed that spatial ability predicts math achievement for: (1) girls with anomalous dominance (non-right-handers and right-handers with non-right-handed relatives), and (2) all boys (independent of handedness group). In contrast, for the standard dominance girls who are right-handed with all right-handed relatives (considered strongly left-hemisphere dominant for language), spatial ability did not predict for math achievement. These findings occurred, even when scholastic aptitude and verbal achievement factors were controlled. It was concluded that further studies of sex differences in math achievement should consider subgroup differences within the sexes, based on handedness patterns.

Visualizing Compound Rotations with Virtual Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flanders, Megan; Kavanagh, Richard C.

2013-01-01

Mental rotations are among the most difficult of all spatial tasks to perform, and even those with high levels of spatial ability can struggle to visualize the result of compound rotations. This pilot study investigates the use of the virtual reality-based Rotation Tool, created using the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) together with…

Age effects on visual-perceptual processing and confrontation naming.

PubMed

Gutherie, Audrey H; Seely, Peter W; Beacham, Lauren A; Schuchard, Ronald A; De l'Aune, William A; Moore, Anna Bacon

2010-03-01

The impact of age-related changes in visual-perceptual processing on naming ability has not been reported. The present study investigated the effects of 6 levels of spatial frequency and 6 levels of contrast on accuracy and latency to name objects in 14 young and 13 older neurologically normal adults with intact lexical-semantic functioning. Spatial frequency and contrast manipulations were made independently. Consistent with the hypotheses, variations in these two visual parameters impact naming ability in young and older subjects differently. The results from the spatial frequency-manipulations revealed that, in general, young vs. older subjects are faster and more accurate to name. However, this age-related difference is dependent on the spatial frequency on the image; differences were only seen for images presented at low (e.g., 0.25-1 c/deg) or high (e.g., 8-16 c/deg) spatial frequencies. Contrary to predictions, the results from the contrast manipulations revealed that overall older vs. young adults are more accurate to name. Again, however, differences were only seen for images presented at the lower levels of contrast (i.e., 1.25%). Both age groups had shorter latencies on the second exposure of the contrast-manipulated images, but this possible advantage of exposure was not seen for spatial frequency. Category analyses conducted on the data from this study indicate that older vs. young adults exhibit a stronger nonliving-object advantage for naming spatial frequency-manipulated images. Moreover, the findings suggest that bottom-up visual-perceptual variables integrate with top-down category information in different ways. Potential implications on the aging and naming (and recognition) literature are discussed.

Visuo-spatial ability in colonoscopy simulator training.

PubMed

Luursema, Jan-Maarten; Buzink, Sonja N; Verwey, Willem B; Jakimowicz, J J

2010-12-01

Visuo-spatial ability is associated with a quality of performance in a variety of surgical and medical skills. However, visuo-spatial ability is typically assessed using Visualization tests only, which led to an incomplete understanding of the involvement of visuo-spatial ability in these skills. To remedy this situation, the current study investigated the role of a broad range of visuo-spatial factors in colonoscopy simulator training. Fifteen medical trainees (no clinical experience in colonoscopy) participated in two psycho-metric test sessions to assess four visuo-spatial ability factors. Next, participants trained flexible endoscope manipulation, and navigation to the cecum on the GI Mentor II simulator, for four sessions within 1 week. Visualization, and to a lesser degree Spatial relations were the only visuo-spatial ability factors to correlate with colonoscopy simulator performance. Visualization additionally covaried with learning rate for time on task on both simulator tasks. High Visualization ability indicated faster exercise completion. Similar to other endoscopic procedures, performance in colonoscopy is positively associated with Visualization, a visuo-spatial ability factor characterized by the ability to mentally manipulate complex visuo-spatial stimuli. The complexity of the visuo-spatial mental transformations required to successfully perform colonoscopy is likely responsible for the challenging nature of this technique, and should inform training- and assessment design. Long term training studies, as well as studies investigating the nature of visuo-spatial complexity in this domain are needed to better understand the role of visuo-spatial ability in colonoscopy, and other endoscopic techniques.

Spatial Abilities of High-School Students in the Perception of Geologic Structures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kali, Yael; Orion, Nir

1996-01-01

Characterizes specific spatial abilities required in geology studies through the examination of the performance of high school students in solving structural geology problems on the geologic spatial ability test (GeoSAT). Concludes that visual penetration ability and the ability to perceive the spatial configuration of the structure are…

The interaction between the spatial distribution of resource patches and population density: consequences for intraspecific growth and morphology.

PubMed

Jacobson, Bailey; Grant, James W A; Peres-Neto, Pedro R

2015-07-01

How individuals within a population distribute themselves across resource patches of varying quality has been an important focus of ecological theory. The ideal free distribution predicts equal fitness amongst individuals in a 1 : 1 ratio with resources, whereas resource defence theory predicts different degrees of monopolization (fitness variance) as a function of temporal and spatial resource clumping and population density. One overlooked landscape characteristic is the spatial distribution of resource patches, altering the equitability of resource accessibility and thereby the effective number of competitors. While much work has investigated the influence of morphology on competitive ability for different resource types, less is known regarding the phenotypic characteristics conferring relative ability for a single resource type, particularly when exploitative competition predominates. Here we used young-of-the-year rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to test whether and how the spatial distribution of resource patches and population density interact to influence the level and variance of individual growth, as well as if functional morphology relates to competitive ability. Feeding trials were conducted within stream channels under three spatial distributions of nine resource patches (distributed, semi-clumped and clumped) at two density levels (9 and 27 individuals). Average trial growth was greater in high-density treatments with no effect of resource distribution. Within-trial growth variance had opposite patterns across resource distributions. Here, variance decreased at low-population, but increased at high-population densities as patches became increasingly clumped as the result of changes in the levels of interference vs. exploitative competition. Within-trial growth was related to both pre- and post-trial morphology where competitive individuals were those with traits associated with swimming capacity and efficiency: larger heads/bodies/caudal fins and less angled pectoral fins. The different degrees of within-population growth variance at the same density level found here, as a function of spatial resource distribution, provide an explanation for the inconsistencies in within-site growth variance and population regulation often noted with regard to density dependence in natural landscapes. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society.

A Theoretical Note on Sex Linkage and Race Differences in Spatial Visualization Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Arthur R.

1975-01-01

Evidence on the poorer spatial visualization ability in various Negro populations compared to the White populations and on the direction and magnitude of sex differences in spatial ability relative to other abilities suggests the genetic hypothesis that spatial ability is enhanced by a sex-linked recessive gene and that, since the 20-30 percent…

Improving Junior High School Students' Spatial Reasoning Ability through Model Eliciting Activities with Cabri 3D

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartatiana; Darhim; Nurlaelah, Elah

2018-01-01

One of students' abilities which can facilitate them to understand geometric concepts is spatial reasoning ability. Spatial reasoning ability can be defined as an ability involving someone's cognitive processing to present and manipulate spatial figures, relationship, and figure formations. This research aims to find out significant difference on…

Reversibility of object recognition but not spatial memory impairment following binge-like alcohol exposure in rats

PubMed Central

Cippitelli, Andrea; Zook, Michelle; Bell, Lauren; Damadzic, Ruslan; Eskay, Robert L.; Schwandt, Melanie; Heilig, Markus

2010-01-01

Excessive alcohol use leads to neurodegeneration in several brain structures including the hippocampal dentate gyrus and the entorhinal cortex. Cognitive deficits that result are among the most insidious and debilitating consequences of alcoholism. The object exploration task (OET) provides a sensitive measurement of spatial memory impairment induced by hippocampal and cortical damage. In this study, we examine whether the observed neurotoxicity produced by a 4-day binge ethanol treatment results in long-term memory impairment by observing the time course of reactions to spatial change (object configuration) and non-spatial change (object recognition). Wistar rats were assessed for their abilities to detect spatial configuration in the OET at 1 week and 10 weeks following the ethanol treatment, in which ethanol groups received 9–15 g/kg/day and achieved blood alcohol levels over 300 mg/dl. At 1 week, results indicated that the binge alcohol treatment produced impairment in both spatial memory and non-spatial object recognition performance. Unlike the controls, ethanol treated rats did not increase the duration or number of contacts with the displaced object in the spatial memory task, nor did they increase the duration of contacts with the novel object in the object recognition task. After 10 weeks, spatial memory remained impaired in the ethanol treated rats but object recognition ability was recovered. Our data suggest that episodes of binge-like alcohol exposure result in long-term and possibly permanent impairments in memory for the configuration of objects during exploration, whereas the ability to detect non-spatial changes is only temporarily affected. PMID:20849966

Assessing heterogeneity in soil nitrogen cycling: a plot-scale approach

Treesearch

Peter Baas; Jacqueline E. Mohan; David Markewitz; Jennifer D. Knoepp

2014-01-01

The high level of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in soil N cycling processes hinders our ability to develop an ecosystem-wide understanding of this cycle. This study examined how incorporating an intensive assessment of spatial variability for soil moisture, C, nutrients, and soil texture can better explain ecosystem N cycling at the plot scale. Five sites...

Neurobiological and Endocrine Correlates of Individual Differences in Spatial Learning Ability

PubMed Central

Sandi, Carmen; Cordero, M. Isabel; Merino, José J.; Kruyt, Nyika D.; Regan, Ciaran M.; Murphy, Keith J.

2004-01-01

The polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) has been implicated in activity-dependent synaptic remodeling and memory formation. Here, we questioned whether training-induced modulation of PSA-NCAM expression might be related to individual differences in spatial learning abilities. At 12 h posttraining, immunohistochemical analyses revealed a learning-induced up-regulation of PSA-NCAM in the hippocampal dentate gyrus that was related to the spatial learning abilities displayed by rats during training. Specifically, a positive correlation was found between latency to find the platform and subsequent activated PSA levels, indicating that greater induction of polysialylation was observed in rats with the slower acquisition curve. At posttraining times when no learning-associated activation of PSA was observed, no such correlation was found. Further experiments revealed that performance in the massed water maze training is related to a pattern of spatial learning and memory abilities, and to learning-related glucocorticoid responsiveness. Taken together, our findings suggest that the learning-related neural circuits of fast learners are better suited to solving the water maze task than those of slow learners, the latter relying more on structural reorganization to form memory, rather than the relatively economic mechanism of altering synaptic efficacy that is likely used by the former. PMID:15169853

Neurobiological and endocrine correlates of individual differences in spatial learning ability.

PubMed

Sandi, Carmen; Cordero, M Isabel; Merino, José J; Kruyt, Nyika D; Regan, Ciaran M; Murphy, Keith J

2004-01-01

The polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) has been implicated in activity-dependent synaptic remodeling and memory formation. Here, we questioned whether training-induced modulation of PSA-NCAM expression might be related to individual differences in spatial learning abilities. At 12 h posttraining, immunohistochemical analyses revealed a learning-induced up-regulation of PSA-NCAM in the hippocampal dentate gyrus that was related to the spatial learning abilities displayed by rats during training. Specifically, a positive correlation was found between latency to find the platform and subsequent activated PSA levels, indicating that greater induction of polysialylation was observed in rats with the slower acquisition curve. At posttraining times when no learning-associated activation of PSA was observed, no such correlation was found. Further experiments revealed that performance in the massed water maze training is related to a pattern of spatial learning and memory abilities, and to learning-related glucocorticoid responsiveness. Taken together, our findings suggest that the learning-related neural circuits of fast learners are better suited to solving the water maze task than those of slow learners, the latter relying more on structural reorganization to form memory, rather than the relatively economic mechanism of altering synaptic efficacy that is likely used by the former.

Visuospatial anatomy comprehension: the role of spatial visualization ability and problem-solving strategies.

PubMed

Nguyen, Ngan; Mulla, Ali; Nelson, Andrew J; Wilson, Timothy D

2014-01-01

The present study explored the problem-solving strategies of high- and low-spatial visualization ability learners on a novel spatial anatomy task to determine whether differences in strategies contribute to differences in task performance. The results of this study provide further insights into the processing commonalities and differences among learners beyond the classification of spatial visualization ability alone, and help elucidate what, if anything, high- and low-spatial visualization ability learners do differently while solving spatial anatomy task problems. Forty-two students completed a standardized measure of spatial visualization ability, a novel spatial anatomy task, and a questionnaire involving personal self-analysis of the processes and strategies used while performing the spatial anatomy task. Strategy reports revealed that there were different ways students approached answering the spatial anatomy task problems. However, chi-square test analyses established that differences in problem-solving strategies did not contribute to differences in task performance. Therefore, underlying spatial visualization ability is the main source of variation in spatial anatomy task performance, irrespective of strategy. In addition to scoring higher and spending less time on the anatomy task, participants with high spatial visualization ability were also more accurate when solving the task problems. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

Sex differences in self-assessed, everyday spatial abilities.

PubMed

Lunneborg, P W

1982-08-01

397 female and 383 male college students assessed themselves on six everyday spatial abilities relative to others of the same gender and age. Males consistently judged themselves to have significantly greater spatial ability than females. Differential participation in sports is tentatively suggested as a critical social influence affecting not only putative spatial performance but even within-gender self-assessments of commonplace activities using spatial ability.

Neural network configuration and efficiency underlies individual differences in spatial orientation ability.

PubMed

Arnold, Aiden E G F; Protzner, Andrea B; Bray, Signe; Levy, Richard M; Iaria, Giuseppe

2014-02-01

Spatial orientation is a complex cognitive process requiring the integration of information processed in a distributed system of brain regions. Current models on the neural basis of spatial orientation are based primarily on the functional role of single brain regions, with limited understanding of how interaction among these brain regions relates to behavior. In this study, we investigated two sources of variability in the neural networks that support spatial orientation--network configuration and efficiency--and assessed whether variability in these topological properties relates to individual differences in orientation accuracy. Participants with higher accuracy were shown to express greater activity in the right supramarginal gyrus, the right precentral cortex, and the left hippocampus, over and above a core network engaged by the whole group. Additionally, high-performing individuals had increased levels of global efficiency within a resting-state network composed of brain regions engaged during orientation and increased levels of node centrality in the right supramarginal gyrus, the right primary motor cortex, and the left hippocampus. These results indicate that individual differences in the configuration of task-related networks and their efficiency measured at rest relate to the ability to spatially orient. Our findings advance systems neuroscience models of orientation and navigation by providing insight into the role of functional integration in shaping orientation behavior.

A Comparison of Student Spatial Abilities Across STEM Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loftis, Thad; Cid, Xiimena; Lopez, Ramon

2011-10-01

It has been shown that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students have higher spatial abilities than students in the liberal arts or humanities. In order to track the change in spatial abilities within a group, studies in physics have examined topics in kinematics, chemistry has examined topics on molecular diagrams, mathematics has examined topics related to geometry, and engineering has developed courses specifically targeting students' spatial abilities. It is understood that students in STEM fields improve their spatial abilities while taking STEM courses, but very few studies have done comparisons amongst the different STEM fields. I will be presenting data comparing different STEM students' spatial ability, assessed using the Mental Rotation Test.

Relationships among Musical Aptitude, Digit Ratio and Testosterone in Men and Women

PubMed Central

Borniger, Jeremy C.; Chaudhry, Adeel; Muehlenbein, Michael P.

2013-01-01

Circulating adult testosterone levels, digit ratio (length of the second finger relative to the fourth finger), and directional asymmetry in digit ratio are considered sexually dimorphic traits in humans. These have been related to spatial abilities in men and women, and because similar brain structures appear to be involved in both spatial and musical abilities, neuroendocrine function may be related to musical as well as spatial cognition. To evaluate relationships among testosterone and musical ability in men and women, saliva samples were collected, testosterone concentrations assessed, and digit ratios calculated using standardized protocols in a sample of university students (N = 61), including both music and non-music majors. Results of Spearman correlations suggest that digit ratio and testosterone levels are statistically related to musical aptitude and performance only within the female sample: A) those females with greater self-reported history of exposure to music (p = 0.016) and instrument proficiency (p = 0.040) scored higher on the Advanced Measures of Music Audiation test, B) those females with higher left hand digit ratio (and perhaps lower fetal testosterone levels) were more highly ranked (p = 0.007) in the orchestra, C) female music students exhibited a trend (p = 0.082) towards higher testosterone levels compared to female non-music students, and D) female music students with higher rank in the orchestra/band had higher testosterone levels (p = 0.003) than lower ranked students. None of these relationships were significant in the male sample, although a lack of statistical power may be one cause. The effects of testosterone are likely a small part of a poorly understood system of biological and environmental stimuli that contribute to musical aptitude. Hormones may play some role in modulating the phenotype of musical ability, and this may be the case for females more so than males. PMID:23520475

Gender Differences in Spatial Ability: "Relationship to Spatial Experience among Chinese Gifted Students in Hong Kong"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, David W.

2007-01-01

Spatial ability based on measures of mental rotation, and spatial experience based on self-reported participation in visual-arts as well as spatial-orientation activities were assessed in a sample of 337 Chinese, gifted students. Consistent with past findings for the general population, there were gender differences in spatial ability favoring…

Exploring the association between visual perception abilities and reading of musical notation.

PubMed

Lee, Horng-Yih

2012-06-01

In the reading of music, the acquisition of pitch information depends primarily upon the spatial position of notes as well as upon an individual's spatial processing ability. This study investigated the relationship between the ability to read single notes and visual-spatial ability. Participants with high and low single-note reading abilities were differentiated based upon differences in musical notation-reading abilities and their spatial processing; object recognition abilities were then assessed. It was found that the group with lower note-reading abilities made more errors than did the group with a higher note-reading abilities in the mental rotation task. In contrast, there was no apparent significant difference between the two groups in the object recognition task. These results suggest that note-reading may be related to visual spatial processing abilities, and not to an individual's ability with object recognition.

The Abilities of Understanding Spatial Relations, Spatial Orientation, and Spatial Visualization Affect 3D Product Design Performance: Using Carton Box Design as an Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liao, Kun-Hsi

2017-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) product design is an essential ability that students of subjects related to product design must acquire. The factors that affect designers' performance in 3D design are numerous, one of which is spatial abilities. Studies have reported that spatial abilities can be used to effectively predict people's performance in…

Expanding Talent Search Procedures by Including Measures of Spatial Ability: CTY's Spatial Test Battery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stumpf, Heinrich; Mills, Carol J.; Brody, Linda E.; Baxley, Philip G.

2013-01-01

The importance of spatial ability for success in a variety of domains, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), is widely acknowledged. Yet, students with high spatial ability are rarely identified, as Talent Searches for academically talented students focus on identifying high mathematical and verbal abilities.…

Sex Differences in Spatial Abilities of Medical Graduates Entering Residency Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langlois, Jean; Wells, Georges A.; Lecourtois, Marc; Bergeron, Germain; Yetisir, Elizabeth; Martin, Marcel

2013-01-01

Sex differences favoring males in spatial abilities have been known by cognitive psychologists for more than half a century. Spatial abilities have been related to three-dimensional anatomy knowledge and the performance in technical skills. The issue of sex differences in spatial abilities has not been addressed formally in the medical field. The…

Reversibility of object recognition but not spatial memory impairment following binge-like alcohol exposure in rats.

PubMed

Cippitelli, Andrea; Zook, Michelle; Bell, Lauren; Damadzic, Ruslan; Eskay, Robert L; Schwandt, Melanie; Heilig, Markus

2010-11-01

Excessive alcohol use leads to neurodegeneration in several brain structures including the hippocampal dentate gyrus and the entorhinal cortex. Cognitive deficits that result are among the most insidious and debilitating consequences of alcoholism. The object exploration task (OET) provides a sensitive measurement of spatial memory impairment induced by hippocampal and cortical damage. In this study, we examine whether the observed neurotoxicity produced by a 4-day binge ethanol treatment results in long-term memory impairment by observing the time course of reactions to spatial change (object configuration) and non-spatial change (object recognition). Wistar rats were assessed for their abilities to detect spatial configuration in the OET at 1 week and 10 weeks following the ethanol treatment, in which ethanol groups received 9-15 g/kg/day and achieved blood alcohol levels over 300 mg/dl. At 1 week, results indicated that the binge alcohol treatment produced impairment in both spatial memory and non-spatial object recognition performance. Unlike the controls, ethanol treated rats did not increase the duration or number of contacts with the displaced object in the spatial memory task, nor did they increase the duration of contacts with the novel object in the object recognition task. After 10 weeks, spatial memory remained impaired in the ethanol treated rats but object recognition ability was recovered. Our data suggest that episodes of binge-like alcohol exposure result in long-term and possibly permanent impairments in memory for the configuration of objects during exploration, whereas the ability to detect non-spatial changes is only temporarily affected. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial abilities and anatomy knowledge assessment: A systematic review.

PubMed

Langlois, Jean; Bellemare, Christian; Toulouse, Josée; Wells, George A

2017-06-01

Anatomy knowledge has been found to include both spatial and non-spatial components. However, no systematic evaluation of studies relating spatial abilities and anatomy knowledge has been undertaken. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the relationship between spatial abilities test and anatomy knowledge assessment. A literature search was done up to March 20, 2014 in Scopus and in several databases on the OvidSP and EBSCOhost platforms. Of the 556 citations obtained, 38 articles were identified and fully reviewed yielding 21 eligible articles and their quality were formally assessed. Non-significant relationships were found between spatial abilities test and anatomy knowledge assessment using essays and non-spatial multiple-choice questions. Significant relationships were observed between spatial abilities test and anatomy knowledge assessment using practical examination, three-dimensional synthesis from two-dimensional views, drawing of views, and cross-sections. Relationships between spatial abilities test and anatomy knowledge assessment using spatial multiple-choice questions were unclear. The results of this systematic review provide evidence for spatial and non-spatial methods of anatomy knowledge assessment. Anat Sci Educ 10: 235-241. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Spatial Abilities and Anatomy Knowledge Assessment: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langlois, Jean; Bellemare, Christian; Toulouse, Josée; Wells, George A.

2017-01-01

Anatomy knowledge has been found to include both spatial and non-spatial components. However, no systematic evaluation of studies relating spatial abilities and anatomy knowledge has been undertaken. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the relationship between spatial abilities test and anatomy knowledge assessment. A…

Exploring the Spatial Ability of Undergraduate Students: Association with Gender, STEM Majors, and Gifted Program Membership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, So Yoon; Mann, Eric L.

2017-01-01

Spatial ability has been valued as a talent domain and as an assessment form that reduces cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic status biases, yet little is known of the spatial ability of students in gifted programs compared with those in general education. Spatial ability is considered an important indicator of potential talent in the domains…

The Interrelationship of Sex, Visual Spatial Abilities, and Mathematical Problem Solving Ability in Grade Seven. Parts 1, 2, and 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schonberger, Ann Koch

This three-volume report deals with the hypothesis that males are more successful at solving mathematical and spatial problems than females. The general relationship between visual spatial abilities and mathematical problem-solving ability is also investigated. The research sample consisted of seventh graders. Each pupil took five spatial tests…

Visuo-spatial abilities are key for young children's verbal number skills.

PubMed

Cornu, Véronique; Schiltz, Christine; Martin, Romain; Hornung, Caroline

2018-02-01

Children's development of verbal number skills (i.e., counting abilities and knowledge of the number names) presents a milestone in mathematical development. Different factors such as visuo-spatial and verbal abilities have been discussed as contributing to the development of these foundational skills. To understand the cognitive nature of verbal number skills in young children, the current study assessed the relation of preschoolers' verbal and visuo-spatial abilities to their verbal number skills. In total, 141 children aged 5 or 6 years participated in the current study. Verbal number skills were regressed on vocabulary, phonological awareness and visuo-spatial abilities, and verbal and visuo-spatial working memory in a structural equation model. Only visuo-spatial abilities emerged as a significant predictor of verbal number skills in the estimated model. Our results suggest that visuo-spatial abilities contribute to a larger extent to children's verbal number skills than verbal abilities. From a theoretical point of view, these results suggest a visuo-spatial, rather than a verbal, grounding of verbal number skills. These results are potentially informative for the conception of early mathematics assessments and interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Students’ Spatial Performance: Cognitive Style and Sex Differences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanifah, U.; Juniati, D.; Siswono, T. Y. E.

2018-01-01

This study aims at describing the students’ spatial abilities based on cognitive styles and sex differences. Spatial abilities in this study include 5 components, namely spatial perception, spatial visualization, mental rotation, spatial relations, and spatial orientation. This research is descriptive research with qualitative approach. The subjects in this research were 4 students of junior high school, there were 1 male FI, 1 male FD, 1 female FI, and 1 female FI. The results showed that there are differences in spatial abilities of the four subjects that are on the components of spatial visualization, mental rotation, and spatial relations. The differences in spatial abilities were found in methods / strategies used by each subject to solve each component problem. The differences in cognitive styles and sex suggested different choice of strategies used to solve problems. The male students imagined the figures but female students needed the media to solve the problem. Besides sex, the cognitive style differences also have an effect on solving a problem. In addition, FI students were not affected by distracting information but FD students could be affected by distracting information. This research was expected to contribute knowledge and insight to the readers, especially for math teachers in terms of the spatial ability of the students so that they can optimize their students’ spatial ability.

The relation between children’s constructive play activities, spatial ability, and mathematical word problem-solving performance: a mediation analysis in sixth-grade students

PubMed Central

Oostermeijer, Meike; Boonen, Anton J. H.; Jolles, Jelle

2014-01-01

The scientific literature shows that constructive play activities are positively related to children’s spatial ability. Likewise, a close positive relation is found between spatial ability and mathematical word problem-solving performances. The relation between children’s constructive play and their performance on mathematical word problems is, however, not reported yet. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether spatial ability acted as a mediator in the relation between constructive play and mathematical word problem-solving performance in 128 sixth-grade elementary school children. This mediating role of spatial ability was tested by utilizing the current mediation approaches suggested by Preacher and Hayes (2008). Results showed that 38.16% of the variance in mathematical word problem-solving performance is explained by children’s constructive play activities and spatial ability. More specifically, spatial ability acted as a partial mediator, explaining 31.58% of the relation between constructive play and mathematical word problem-solving performance. PMID:25101038

The link between mental rotation ability and basic numerical representations

PubMed Central

Thompson, Jacqueline M.; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph; Moeller, Korbinian; Cohen Kadosh, Roi

2013-01-01

Mental rotation and number representation have both been studied widely, but although mental rotation has been linked to higher-level mathematical skills, to date it has not been shown whether mental rotation ability is linked to the most basic mental representation and processing of numbers. To investigate the possible connection between mental rotation abilities and numerical representation, 43 participants completed four tasks: 1) a standard pen-and-paper mental rotation task; 2) a multi-digit number magnitude comparison task assessing the compatibility effect, which indicates separate processing of decade and unit digits; 3) a number-line mapping task, which measures precision of number magnitude representation; and 4) a random number generation task, which yields measures both of executive control and of spatial number representations. Results show that mental rotation ability correlated significantly with both size of the compatibility effect and with number mapping accuracy, but not with any measures from the random number generation task. Together, these results suggest that higher mental rotation abilities are linked to more developed number representation, and also provide further evidence for the connection between spatial and numerical abilities. PMID:23933002

Contralateral routing of signals disrupts monaural level and spectral cues to sound localisation on the horizontal plane.

PubMed

Pedley, Adam J; Kitterick, Pádraig T

2017-09-01

Contra-lateral routing of signals (CROS) devices re-route sound between the deaf and hearing ears of unilaterally-deaf individuals. This rerouting would be expected to disrupt access to monaural level cues that can support monaural localisation in the horizontal plane. However, such a detrimental effect has not been confirmed by clinical studies of CROS use. The present study aimed to exercise strict experimental control over the availability of monaural cues to localisation in the horizontal plane and the fitting of the CROS device to assess whether signal routing can impair the ability to locate sources of sound and, if so, whether CROS selectively disrupts monaural level or spectral cues to horizontal location, or both. Unilateral deafness and CROS device use were simulated in twelve normal hearing participants. Monaural recordings of broadband white noise presented from three spatial locations (-60°, 0°, and +60°) were made in the ear canal of a model listener using a probe microphone with and without a CROS device. The recordings were presented to participants via an insert earphone placed in their right ear. The recordings were processed to disrupt either monaural level or spectral cues to horizontal sound location by roving presentation level or the energy across adjacent frequency bands, respectively. Localisation ability was assessed using a three-alternative forced-choice spatial discrimination task. Participants localised above chance levels in all conditions. Spatial discrimination accuracy was poorer when participants only had access to monaural spectral cues compared to when monaural level cues were available. CROS use impaired localisation significantly regardless of whether level or spectral cues were available. For both cues, signal re-routing had a detrimental effect on the ability to localise sounds originating from the side of the deaf ear (-60°). CROS use also impaired the ability to use level cues to localise sounds originating from straight ahead (0°). The re-routing of sounds can restrict access to the monaural cues that provide a basis for determining sound location in the horizontal plane. Perhaps encouragingly, the results suggest that both monaural level and spectral cues may not be disrupted entirely by signal re-routing and that it may still be possible to reliably identify sounds originating on the hearing side. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Creativity and technical innovation: spatial ability's unique role.

PubMed

Kell, Harrison J; Lubinski, David; Benbow, Camilla P; Steiger, James H

2013-09-01

In the late 1970s, 563 intellectually talented 13-year-olds (identified by the SAT as in the top 0.5% of ability) were assessed on spatial ability. More than 30 years later, the present study evaluated whether spatial ability provided incremental validity (beyond the SAT's mathematical and verbal reasoning subtests) for differentially predicting which of these individuals had patents and three classes of refereed publications. A two-step discriminant-function analysis revealed that the SAT subtests jointly accounted for 10.8% of the variance among these outcomes (p < .01); when spatial ability was added, an additional 7.6% was accounted for--a statistically significant increase (p < .01). The findings indicate that spatial ability has a unique role in the development of creativity, beyond the roles played by the abilities traditionally measured in educational selection, counseling, and industrial-organizational psychology. Spatial ability plays a key and unique role in structuring many important psychological phenomena and should be examined more broadly across the applied and basic psychological sciences.

The Implementation of a Geospatial Information Technology (GIT)-Supported Land Use Change Curriculum with Urban Middle School Learners to Promote Spatial Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bodzin, Alec M.

2011-01-01

This study investigated whether a geospatial information technology (GIT)-supported science curriculum helped students in an urban middle school understand land use change (LUC) concepts and enhanced their spatial thinking. Five 8th grade earth and space science classes in an urban middle school consisting of three different ability level tracks…

Animation, audio, and spatial ability: Optimizing multimedia for scientific explanations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koroghlanian, Carol May

This study investigated the effects of audio, animation and spatial ability in a computer based instructional program for biology. The program presented instructional material via text or audio with lean text and included eight instructional sequences presented either via static illustrations or animations. High school students enrolled in a biology course were blocked by spatial ability and randomly assigned to one of four treatments (Text-Static Illustration Audio-Static Illustration, Text-Animation, Audio-Animation). The study examined the effects of instructional mode (Text vs. Audio), illustration mode (Static Illustration vs. Animation) and spatial ability (Low vs. High) on practice and posttest achievement, attitude and time. Results for practice achievement indicated that high spatial ability participants achieved more than low spatial ability participants. Similar results for posttest achievement and spatial ability were not found. Participants in the Static Illustration treatments achieved the same as participants in the Animation treatments on both the practice and posttest. Likewise, participants in the Text treatments achieved the same as participants in the Audio treatments on both the practice and posttest. In terms of attitude, participants responded favorably to the computer based instructional program. They found the program interesting, felt the static illustrations or animations made the explanations easier to understand and concentrated on learning the material. Furthermore, participants in the Animation treatments felt the information was easier to understand than participants in the Static Illustration treatments. However, no difference for any attitude item was found for participants in the Text as compared to those in the Audio treatments. Significant differences were found by Spatial Ability for three attitude items concerning concentration and interest. In all three items, the low spatial ability participants responded more positively than high spatial ability participants. In addition, low spatial ability participants reported greater mental effort than high spatial ability participants. Findings for time-in-program and time-in-instruction indicated that participants in the Animation treatments took significantly more time than participants in the Static Illustration treatments. No time differences of any type were found for participants in the Text versus Audio treatments. Implications for the design of multimedia instruction and topics for future research are included in the discussion.

How spatial abilities and dynamic visualizations interplay when learning functional anatomy with 3D anatomical models.

PubMed

Berney, Sandra; Bétrancourt, Mireille; Molinari, Gaëlle; Hoyek, Nady

2015-01-01

The emergence of dynamic visualizations of three-dimensional (3D) models in anatomy curricula may be an adequate solution for spatial difficulties encountered with traditional static learning, as they provide direct visualization of change throughout the viewpoints. However, little research has explored the interplay between learning material presentation formats, spatial abilities, and anatomical tasks. First, to understand the cognitive challenges a novice learner would be faced with when first exposed to 3D anatomical content, a six-step cognitive task analysis was developed. Following this, an experimental study was conducted to explore how presentation formats (dynamic vs. static visualizations) support learning of functional anatomy, and affect subsequent anatomical tasks derived from the cognitive task analysis. A second aim was to investigate the interplay between spatial abilities (spatial visualization and spatial relation) and presentation formats when the functional anatomy of a 3D scapula and the associated shoulder flexion movement are learned. Findings showed no main effect of the presentation formats on performances, but revealed the predictive influence of spatial visualization and spatial relation abilities on performance. However, an interesting interaction between presentation formats and spatial relation ability for a specific anatomical task was found. This result highlighted the influence of presentation formats when spatial abilities are involved as well as the differentiated influence of spatial abilities on anatomical tasks. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Implicit and Explicit Gender Beliefs in Spatial Ability: Stronger Stereotyping in Boys than Girls.

PubMed

Vander Heyden, Karin M; van Atteveldt, Nienke M; Huizinga, Mariette; Jolles, Jelle

2016-01-01

Sex differences in spatial ability are a seriously debated topic, given the importance of spatial ability for success in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and girls' underrepresentation in these domains. In the current study we investigated the presence of stereotypic gender beliefs on spatial ability (i.e., "spatial ability is for boys") in 10- and 12-year-old children. We used both an explicit measure (i.e., a self-report questionnaire) and an implicit measure (i.e., a child IAT). Results of the explicit measure showed that both sexes associated spatial ability with boys, with boys holding more male stereotyped attitudes than girls. On the implicit measure, boys associated spatial ability with boys, while girls were gender-neutral. In addition, we examined the effects of gender beliefs on spatial performance, by experimentally activating gender beliefs within a pretest-instruction-posttest design. We compared three types of instruction: boys are better, girls are better, and no sex differences. No effects of these gender belief instructions were found on children's spatial test performance (i.e., mental rotation and paper folding). The finding that children of this age already have stereotypic beliefs about the spatial capacities of their own sex is important, as these beliefs may influence children's choices for spatial leisure activities and educational tracks in the STEM domain.

Implicit and Explicit Gender Beliefs in Spatial Ability: Stronger Stereotyping in Boys than Girls

PubMed Central

Vander Heyden, Karin M.; van Atteveldt, Nienke M.; Huizinga, Mariette; Jolles, Jelle

2016-01-01

Sex differences in spatial ability are a seriously debated topic, given the importance of spatial ability for success in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and girls' underrepresentation in these domains. In the current study we investigated the presence of stereotypic gender beliefs on spatial ability (i.e., “spatial ability is for boys”) in 10- and 12-year-old children. We used both an explicit measure (i.e., a self-report questionnaire) and an implicit measure (i.e., a child IAT). Results of the explicit measure showed that both sexes associated spatial ability with boys, with boys holding more male stereotyped attitudes than girls. On the implicit measure, boys associated spatial ability with boys, while girls were gender-neutral. In addition, we examined the effects of gender beliefs on spatial performance, by experimentally activating gender beliefs within a pretest—instruction—posttest design. We compared three types of instruction: boys are better, girls are better, and no sex differences. No effects of these gender belief instructions were found on children's spatial test performance (i.e., mental rotation and paper folding). The finding that children of this age already have stereotypic beliefs about the spatial capacities of their own sex is important, as these beliefs may influence children's choices for spatial leisure activities and educational tracks in the STEM domain. PMID:27507956

Sex Differences in Spatial Ability: A Critique.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clear, Sarah-Jane

1978-01-01

Explores (1) problems of the validity of tests of spatial ability, and (2) problems of the recessive gene influence theory of the origin of sex differences in spatial ability. Studies of cognitive strategies in spatial problem solving are suggested as a way to further investigate recessive gene influence. (Author/RH)

Influence of Design Training and Spatial Solution Strategies on Spatial Ability Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Hanyu

2016-01-01

Numerous studies have reported that spatial ability improves through training. This study investigated the following: (1) whether design training enhances spatial ability and (2) whether differing solution strategies are applied or generated following design training. On the basis of these two research objectives, this study divided the…

The Diagnosis Dilemma: Dyslexia and Visual-Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kotsopoulos, Donna; Zambrzycka, Joanna; Makosz, Samantha; Asdrubolini, Emma; Babic, Jovana; Best, Olivia; Bines, Tara; Cook, Samantha; Farrell, Natalie; Gisondi, Victoria; Scott, Meghan; Siderius, Christina; Smith, Dyoni

2017-01-01

Visual-spatial ability is important for mathematics learning but also for future STEM participation. Some studies report children with dyslexia have superior visual-spatial skills and other studies report a deficit. We sought to further explore the relationship between children formally identified as having dyslexia and visual-spatial ability.…

Proximal versus distal cue utilization in spatial navigation: the role of visual acuity?

PubMed

Carman, Heidi M; Mactutus, Charles F

2002-09-01

Proximal versus distal cue use in the Morris water maze is a widely accepted strategy for the dissociation of various problems affecting spatial navigation in rats such as aging, head trauma, lesions, and pharmacological or hormonal agents. Of the limited number of ontogenetic rat studies conducted, the majority have approached the problem of preweanling spatial navigation through a similar proximal-distal dissociation. An implicit assumption among all of these studies has been that the animal's visual system is sufficient to permit robust spatial navigation. We challenged this assumption and have addressed the role of visual acuity in spatial navigation in the preweanling Fischer 344-N rat by training animals to locate a visible (proximal) or hidden (distal) platform using double or null extramaze cues within the testing environment. All pups demonstrated improved performance across training, but animals presented with a visible platform, regardless of extramaze cues, simultaneously reached asymptotic performance levels; animals presented with a hidden platform, dependent upon location of extramaze cues, differentially reached asymptotic performance levels. Probe trial performance, defined by quadrant time and platform crossings, revealed that distal-double-cue pups demonstrated spatial navigational ability superior to that of the remaining groups. These results suggest that a pup's ability to spatially navigate a hidden platform is dependent on not only its response repertoire and task parameters, but also its visual acuity, as determined by the extramaze cue location within the testing environment. The standard hidden versus visible platform dissociation may not be a satisfactory strategy for the control of potential sensory deficits.

Performance as a function of ability, resources invested, and strategy used.

PubMed

Botella, Juan; Peña, Daniel; Contreras, María José; Shih, Pei-Chun; Santacreu, José

2009-01-01

Computerized tasks allow a more fine-grained analysis of the strategy deployed in a task designed to map a specific ability than the usual assessment on the basis of only the level of performance. Manipulations expected to impair performance sometimes do not have that effect, probably because the level of performance alone can confound the assessment of the ability level if researchers ignore the strategy used. In a study with 1,872 participants, the authors applied the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (J. Santacreu, 1999) in single and dual task settings, identifying 3 different strategies. Strategy shifts were associated with the level of performance, as more apt individuals were more likely to shift to better strategies. Ignoring the strategies yields counterintuitive results that cannot be explained by simple, direct relations among the constructs involved.

Relationships among childhood sex-atypical behavior, spatial ability, handedness, and sexual orientation in men.

PubMed

Cohen, Kenneth M

2002-02-01

Moderate support was obtained in a sample of 101 gay, bisexual, and heterosexual males for the perinatal hormone theory, which hypothesizes that attenuated levels of androgens during critical periods of male fetal development fail to masculinize and defeminize the brain. Affected individuals develop female-typical sexual orientation (assessed here by a pie chart) and cerebral organization, reflected in visual-spatial abilities and gender nonconformity. Handedness, also thought to reflect in utero hormone exposure, was evaluated. Gay and bisexual males reported greater femininity and lesser masculinity than heterosexuals, with bisexuals intermediate in masculinity, suggesting a common biological mediator for homoeroticism and sex atypicality. Among bisexual males, increased masculinity was related to enhanced performance on all spatial tasks. Group mean differences in spatial ability and handedness were not found; however, among bisexuals, poorer visual-spatial performance predicted increased homoeroticism and right-handedness positively correlated with all spatial tasks. If perinatal hormones contribute to a generalized feminization of the brain, the current data indicate that it is most apparent among bisexual males. Sexing of their brains may involve several sexually dimorphic regions that are related in a continuous manner. Inferred cerebral feminization was more circumscribed among gay and heterosexual males, for whom childhood sex atypicality was most highly-distinguishing. Unspecified mechanisms responsible for homoeroticism in them may differ from those that produce same-sex attractions in bisexuals and thus have relatively little impact on other components of cerebral feminization.

Spatial Learning and Wayfinding in an Immersive Environment: The Digital Fulldome.

PubMed

Hedge, Craig; Weaver, Ruth; Schnall, Simone

2017-05-01

Previous work has examined whether immersive technologies can benefit learning in virtual environments, but the potential benefits of technology in this context are confounded by individual differences such as spatial ability. We assessed spatial knowledge acquisition in male and female participants using a technology not previously examined empirically: the digital fulldome. Our primary aim was to examine whether performance on a test of survey knowledge was better in a fulldome (N = 28, 12 males) relative to a large, flat screen display (N = 27, 13 males). Regression analysis showed that, compared to a flat screen display, males showed higher levels of performance on a test of survey knowledge after learning in the fulldome, but no benefit occurred for females. Furthermore, performance correlated with spatial visualization ability in male participants, but not in female participants. Thus, the digital fulldome is a potentially useful learning aid, capable of accommodating multiple users, but individual differences and use of strategy need to be considered.

Binaural Hearing Ability With Bilateral Bone Conduction Stimulation in Subjects With Normal Hearing: Implications for Bone Conduction Hearing Aids.

PubMed

Zeitooni, Mehrnaz; Mäki-Torkko, Elina; Stenfelt, Stefan

The purpose of this study is to evaluate binaural hearing ability in adults with normal hearing when bone conduction (BC) stimulation is bilaterally applied at the bone conduction hearing aid (BCHA) implant position as well as at the audiometric position on the mastoid. The results with BC stimulation are compared with bilateral air conduction (AC) stimulation through earphones. Binaural hearing ability is investigated with tests of spatial release from masking and binaural intelligibility level difference using sentence material, binaural masking level difference with tonal chirp stimulation, and precedence effect using noise stimulus. In all tests, results with bilateral BC stimulation at the BCHA position illustrate an ability to extract binaural cues similar to BC stimulation at the mastoid position. The binaural benefit is overall greater with AC stimulation than BC stimulation at both positions. The binaural benefit for BC stimulation at the mastoid and BCHA position is approximately half in terms of decibels compared with AC stimulation in the speech based tests (spatial release from masking and binaural intelligibility level difference). For binaural masking level difference, the binaural benefit for the two BC positions with chirp signal phase inversion is approximately twice the benefit with inverted phase of the noise. The precedence effect results with BC stimulation at the mastoid and BCHA position are similar for low frequency noise stimulation but differ with high-frequency noise stimulation. The results confirm that binaural hearing processing with bilateral BC stimulation at the mastoid position is also present at the BCHA implant position. This indicates the ability for binaural hearing in patients with good cochlear function when using bilateral BCHAs.

Correlates of individual, and age-related, differences in short-term learning.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhiyong; Davis, Hasker P; Salthouse, Timothy A; Tucker-Drob, Elliot M

2007-07-01

Latent growth models were applied to data on multitrial verbal and spatial learning tasks from two independent studies. Although significant individual differences in both initial level of performance and subsequent learning were found in both tasks, age differences were found only in mean initial level, and not in mean learning. In neither task was fluid or crystallized intelligence associated with learning. Although there were moderate correlations among the level parameters across the verbal and spatial tasks, the learning parameters were not significantly correlated with one another across task modalities. These results are inconsistent with the existence of a general (e.g., material-independent) learning ability.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of 3D vascular stereoscopic models in anatomy instruction for first year medical students.

PubMed

Cui, Dongmei; Wilson, Timothy D; Rockhold, Robin W; Lehman, Michael N; Lynch, James C

2017-01-01

The head and neck region is one of the most complex areas featured in the medical gross anatomy curriculum. The effectiveness of using three-dimensional (3D) models to teach anatomy is a topic of much discussion in medical education research. However, the use of 3D stereoscopic models of the head and neck circulation in anatomy education has not been previously studied in detail. This study investigated whether 3D stereoscopic models created from computed tomographic angiography (CTA) data were efficacious teaching tools for the head and neck vascular anatomy. The test subjects were first year medical students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The assessment tools included: anatomy knowledge tests (prelearning session knowledge test and postlearning session knowledge test), mental rotation tests (spatial ability; presession MRT and postsession MRT), and a satisfaction survey. Results were analyzed using a Wilcoxon rank-sum test and linear regression analysis. A total of 39 first year medical students participated in the study. The results indicated that all students who were exposed to the stereoscopic 3D vascular models in 3D learning sessions increased their ability to correctly identify the head and neck vascular anatomy. Most importantly, for students with low-spatial ability, 3D learning sessions improved postsession knowledge scores to a level comparable to that demonstrated by students with high-spatial ability indicating that the use of 3D stereoscopic models may be particularly valuable to these students with low-spatial ability. Anat Sci Educ 10: 34-45. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

A comparison of sap flux-based evapotranspiration estimates with catchment-scale water balance

Treesearch

Chelcy R. Ford; Robert M. Hubbard; Brian D. Kloeppel; James M. Vose

2007-01-01

Many researchers are using sap flux to estimate tree-level transpiration, and to scale to stand- and catchment-level transpiration; yet studies evaluating the comparability of sap flux-based estimates of transpiration (E) with alternative methods for estimating Et at this spatial scale are rare. Our ability to...

Level 2 Perspective Taking Entails Two Processes: Evidence from PRP Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janczyk, Markus

2013-01-01

In many situations people need to mentally adopt the (spatial) perspective of other persons, an ability that is referred to as "Level 2 perspective taking." Its underlying processes have been ascribed to mental self-rotation that can be dissociated from mental object-rotation. Recent findings suggest that perspective taking/self-rotation…

The Bayesian group lasso for confounded spatial data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hefley, Trevor J.; Hooten, Mevin B.; Hanks, Ephraim M.; Russell, Robin E.; Walsh, Daniel P.

2017-01-01

Generalized linear mixed models for spatial processes are widely used in applied statistics. In many applications of the spatial generalized linear mixed model (SGLMM), the goal is to obtain inference about regression coefficients while achieving optimal predictive ability. When implementing the SGLMM, multicollinearity among covariates and the spatial random effects can make computation challenging and influence inference. We present a Bayesian group lasso prior with a single tuning parameter that can be chosen to optimize predictive ability of the SGLMM and jointly regularize the regression coefficients and spatial random effect. We implement the group lasso SGLMM using efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms and demonstrate how multicollinearity among covariates and the spatial random effect can be monitored as a derived quantity. To test our method, we compared several parameterizations of the SGLMM using simulated data and two examples from plant ecology and disease ecology. In all examples, problematic levels multicollinearity occurred and influenced sampling efficiency and inference. We found that the group lasso prior resulted in roughly twice the effective sample size for MCMC samples of regression coefficients and can have higher and less variable predictive accuracy based on out-of-sample data when compared to the standard SGLMM.

Gender differences in patterns of spatial ability, environmental cognition, and math and English achievement in late adolescence.

PubMed

Pearson, J L; Ferguson, L R

1989-01-01

Relationships were explored among three measures of spatial ability--the Embedded Figures Test (EFT), the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), and the Differential Aptitude Spatial Relations subtest (DAT)--an environmental cognition task (MAP), American College Testing (ACT) math and English achievement, and gender in a sample of 282 undergraduates. Variance attributable to gender among the spatial tasks ranged from 0.5% in the EFT to 12% in the MRT. Gender accounted for only 1% of the variance in the MAP task. Gender differences were noted in regression analyses; women's math and English achievement scores were both predictive of spatial ability, while for men, only math achievement was predictive of spatial ability. The results were interpreted as substantiating sex role socialization theory of cognitive abilities.

Enhancement of Spatial Ability in Girls in a Single-Sex Environment through Spatial Experience and the Impact on Information Seeking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swarlis, Linda L.

2008-01-01

The test scores of spatial ability for women lag behind those of men in many spatial tests. On the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), a significant gender gap has existed for over 20 years and continues to exist. High spatial ability has been linked to efficiencies in typical computing tasks including Web and database searching, text editing, and…

Disentangling the effects of working memory, language, parental education, and non-verbal intelligence on children’s mathematical abilities

PubMed Central

Pina, Violeta; Fuentes, Luis J.; Castillo, Alejandro; Diamantopoulou, Sofia

2014-01-01

It is assumed that children’s performance in mathematical abilities is influenced by several factors such as working memory (WM), verbal ability, intelligence, and socioeconomic status. The present study explored the contribution of those factors to mathematical performance taking a componential view of both WM and mathematics. We explored the existing relationship between different WM components (verbal and spatial) with tasks that make differential recruitment of the central executive, and simple and complex mathematical skills in a sample of 102 children in grades 4–6. The main findings point to a relationship between the verbal WM component and complex word arithmetic problems, whereas language and non-verbal intelligence were associated with knowledge of quantitative concepts and arithmetic ability. The spatial WM component was associated with the subtest Series, whereas the verbal component was with the subtest Concepts. The results also suggest a positive relationship between parental educational level and children’s performance on Quantitative Concepts. These findings suggest that specific cognitive skills might be trained in order to improve different aspects of mathematical ability. PMID:24847306

Effect of Visual-Spatial Ability on Medical Students' Performance in a Gross Anatomy Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lufler, Rebecca S.; Zumwalt, Ann C.; Romney, Carla A.; Hoagland, Todd M.

2012-01-01

The ability to mentally manipulate objects in three dimensions is essential to the practice of many clinical medical specialties. The relationship between this type of visual-spatial ability and performance in preclinical courses such as medical gross anatomy is poorly understood. This study determined if visual-spatial ability is associated with…

The Differential Role of Verbal and Spatial Working Memory in the Neural Basis of Arithmetic

PubMed Central

Demir, Özlem Ece; Prado, Jérôme; Booth, James R.

2014-01-01

We examine the relations of verbal and spatial WM ability to the neural bases of arithmetic in school-age children. We independently localize brain regions subserving verbal versus spatial representations. For multiplication, higher verbal WM ability is associated with greater recruitment of the left temporal cortex, identified by the verbal localizer. For multiplication and subtraction, higher spatial WM ability is associated with greater recruitment of right parietal cortex, identified by the spatial localizer. Depending on their WM ability, children engage different neural systems that manipulate different representations to solve arithmetic problems. PMID:25144257

Spatial visualization in physics problem solving.

PubMed

Kozhevnikov, Maria; Motes, Michael A; Hegarty, Mary

2007-07-08

Three studies were conducted to examine the relation of spatial visualization to solving kinematics problems that involved either predicting the two-dimensional motion of an object, translating from one frame of reference to another, or interpreting kinematics graphs. In Study 1, 60 physics-naíve students were administered kinematics problems and spatial visualization ability tests. In Study 2, 17 (8 high- and 9 low-spatial ability) additional students completed think-aloud protocols while they solved the kinematics problems. In Study 3, the eye movements of fifteen (9 high- and 6 low-spatial ability) students were recorded while the students solved kinematics problems. In contrast to high-spatial students, most low-spatial students did not combine two motion vectors, were unable to switch frames of reference, and tended to interpret graphs literally. The results of the study suggest an important relationship between spatial visualization ability and solving kinematics problems with multiple spatial parameters. 2007 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Individual Differences in Spatial Text Processing: High Spatial Ability Can Compensate for Spatial Working Memory Interference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meneghetti, Chiara; Gyselinck, Valerie; Pazzaglia, Francesca; De Beni, Rossana

2009-01-01

The present study investigates the relation between spatial ability and visuo-spatial and verbal working memory in spatial text processing. In two experiments, participants listened to a spatial text (Experiments 1 and 2) and a non-spatial text (Experiment 1), at the same time performing a spatial or a verbal concurrent task, or no secondary task.…

Spatial hearing ability of the pigmented Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus): Minimum audible angle and spatial release from masking in azimuth.

PubMed

Greene, Nathaniel T; Anbuhl, Kelsey L; Ferber, Alexander T; DeGuzman, Marisa; Allen, Paul D; Tollin, Daniel J

2018-08-01

Despite the common use of guinea pigs in investigations of the neural mechanisms of binaural and spatial hearing, their behavioral capabilities in spatial hearing tasks have surprisingly not been thoroughly investigated. To begin to fill this void, we tested the spatial hearing of adult male guinea pigs in several experiments using a paradigm based on the prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response. In the first experiment, we presented continuous broadband noise from one speaker location and switched to a second speaker location (the "prepulse") along the azimuth prior to presenting a brief, ∼110 dB SPL startle-eliciting stimulus. We found that the startle response amplitude was systematically reduced for larger changes in speaker swap angle (i.e., greater PPI), indicating that using the speaker "swap" paradigm is sufficient to assess stimulus detection of spatially separated sounds. In a second set of experiments, we swapped low- and high-pass noise across the midline to estimate their ability to utilize interaural time- and level-difference cues, respectively. The results reveal that guinea pigs can utilize both binaural cues to discriminate azimuthal sound sources. A third set of experiments examined spatial release from masking using a continuous broadband noise masker and a broadband chirp signal, both presented concurrently at various speaker locations. In general, animals displayed an increase in startle amplitude (i.e., lower PPI) when the masker was presented at speaker locations near that of the chirp signal, and reduced startle amplitudes (increased PPI) indicating lower detection thresholds when the noise was presented from more distant speaker locations. In summary, these results indicate that guinea pigs can: 1) discriminate changes in source location within a hemifield as well as across the midline, 2) discriminate sources of low- and high-pass sounds, demonstrating that they can effectively utilize both low-frequency interaural time and high-frequency level difference sound localization cues, and 3) utilize spatial release from masking to discriminate sound sources. This report confirms the guinea pig as a suitable spatial hearing model and reinforces prior estimates of guinea pig hearing ability from acoustical and physiological measurements. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of the Level of Coordinated Motor Abilities on Performance in Junior Judokas

PubMed Central

Lech, Grzegorz; Jaworski, Janusz; Lyakh, Vladimir; Krawczyk, Robert

2011-01-01

The main focus of this study was to identify coordinated motor abilities that affect fighting methods and performance in junior judokas. Subjects were selected for the study in consideration of their age, competition experience, body mass and prior sports level. Subjects’ competition history was taken into consideration when analysing the effectiveness of current fight actions, and individual sports level was determined with consideration to rank in the analysed competitions. The study sought to determine the level of coordinated motor abilities of competitors. The scope of this analysis covered the following aspects: kinaesthetic differentiation, movement frequency, simple and selective reaction time (evoked by a visual or auditory stimulus), spatial orientation, visual-motor coordination, rhythmization, speed, accuracy and precision of movements and the ability to adapt movements and balance. A set of computer tests was employed for the analysis of all of the coordination abilities, while balance examinations were based on the Flamingo Balance Test. Finally, all relationships were determined based on the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. It was observed that the activity of the contestants during the fight correlated with the ability to differentiate movements and speed, accuracy and precision of movement, whereas the achievement level during competition was connected with reaction time. PMID:23486723

Spatial cognition and science achievement: The contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic spatial skills from 7 to 11 years.

PubMed

Hodgkiss, Alex; Gilligan, Katie A; Tolmie, Andrew K; Thomas, Michael S C; Farran, Emily K

2018-01-22

Prior longitudinal and correlational research with adults and adolescents indicates that spatial ability is a predictor of science learning and achievement. However, there is little research to date with primary-school aged children that addresses this relationship. Understanding this association has the potential to inform curriculum design and support the development of early interventions. This study examined the relationship between primary-school children's spatial skills and their science achievement. Children aged 7-11 years (N = 123) completed a battery of five spatial tasks, based on a model of spatial ability in which skills fall along two dimensions: intrinsic-extrinsic; static-dynamic. Participants also completed a curriculum-based science assessment. Controlling for verbal ability and age, mental folding (intrinsic-dynamic spatial ability), and spatial scaling (extrinsic-static spatial ability) each emerged as unique predictors of overall science scores, with mental folding a stronger predictor than spatial scaling. These spatial skills combined accounted for 8% of the variance in science scores. When considered by scientific discipline, mental folding uniquely predicted both physics and biology scores, and spatial scaling accounted for additional variance in biology and variance in chemistry scores. The children's embedded figures task (intrinsic-static spatial ability) only accounted for variance in chemistry scores. The patterns of association were consistent across the age range. Spatial skills, particularly mental folding, spatial scaling, and disembedding, are predictive of 7- to 11-year-olds' science achievement. These skills make a similar contribution to performance for each age group. © 2018 The Authors. British Journal of Education Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.

Music and nonmusical abilities.

PubMed

Schellenberg, E G

2001-06-01

Reports that exposure to music causes benefits in nonmusical domains have received widespread attention in the mainstream media. Such reports have also influenced public policy. The so-called "Mozart effect" actually refers to two relatively distinct phenomena. One concerns short-term increases in spatial abilities that are said to occur from listening to music composed by Mozart. The other refers to the possibility that formal training in music yields nonmusical benefits. A review of the relevant findings indicates that the short-term effect is small and unreliable. Moreover, when it is evident, it can be explained by between-condition differences in the listener's mood or levels of cognitive arousal. By contrast, the effect of music lessons on nonmusical aspects of cognitive development is still an open question. Several studies have reported positive associations between formal music lessons and abilities in nonmusical (e.g., linguistic, mathematical, and spatial) domains. Nonetheless, compelling evidence for a causal link remains elusive.

Heterogeneous game resource distributions promote cooperation in spatial prisoner's dilemma game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Guang-Hai; Wang, Zhen; Yang, Yan-Cun; Tian, Sheng-Wen; Yue, Jun

2018-01-01

In social networks, individual abilities to establish interactions are always heterogeneous and independent of the number of topological neighbors. We here study the influence of heterogeneous distributions of abilities on the evolution of individual cooperation in the spatial prisoner's dilemma game. First, we introduced a prisoner's dilemma game, taking into account individual heterogeneous abilities to establish games, which are determined by the owned game resources. Second, we studied three types of game resource distributions that follow the power-law property. Simulation results show that the heterogeneous distribution of individual game resources can promote cooperation effectively, and the heterogeneous level of resource distributions has a positive influence on the maintenance of cooperation. Extensive analysis shows that cooperators with large resource capacities can foster cooperator clusters around themselves. Furthermore, when the temptation to defect is high, cooperator clusters in which the central pure cooperators have larger game resource capacities are more stable than other cooperator clusters.

Follow your nose: Implicit spatial processing within the chemosensory systems.

PubMed

Wudarczyk, Olga A; Habel, Ute; Turetsky, Bruce I; Gur, Raquel E; Kellermann, Thilo; Schneider, Frank; Moessnang, Carolin

2016-11-01

Although most studies agree that humans cannot smell in stereo, it was recently suggested that olfactory localization is possible when assessed implicitly. In a spatial cueing paradigm, lateralized olfactory cues impaired the detection of congruently presented visual targets, an effect contrary to the typical facilitation observed in other sensory domains. Here, we examined the specificity and the robustness of this finding by studying implicit localization abilities in another chemosensory system and by accounting for possible confounds in a modified paradigm. Sixty participants completed a spatial cueing task along with an explicit localization task, using trigeminal (Experiment 1) and olfactory (Experiment 2) stimuli. A control task was implemented to control for residual somatosensory stimulation (Experiment 3). In the trigeminal experiment, stimuli were localized with high accuracy on the explicit level, while the cueing effect in form of facilitation was limited to response accuracy. In the olfactory experiment, responses were slowed by congruent cues on the implicit level, while no explicit localization was observed. Our results point to the robustness of the olfactory interference effect, corroborating the implicit-explicit dissociation of olfactory localization, and challenging the view that humans lost the ability to extract spatial information from smell. The absence of a similar interference for trigeminal cues suggests distinct implicit spatial processing mechanisms within the chemosensory systems. Moreover, the lack of a typical facilitation effect in the trigeminal domain points to important differences from spatial information processing in other, nonchemosensory domains. The possible mechanisms driving the effects are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Predicting Student Performance in Sonographic Scanning Using Spatial Ability as an Ability Determinent of Skill Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clem, Douglas Wayne

2012-01-01

Spatial ability refers to an individual's capacity to visualize and mentally manipulate three dimensional objects. Since sonographers manually manipulate 2D and 3D sonographic images to generate multi-viewed, logical, sequential renderings of an anatomical structure, it can be assumed that spatial ability is central to the perception and…

Spatial vs. Nonspatial Reasoning Ability in Chronic Schizophrenics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartlage, Lawrence C.; Garber, Judy

1976-01-01

Compares spatial with nonspatial reasoning ability within the same patients to determine whether spatial reasoning deficits in schizophrenics are specific to spatial types of tasks or are indicative of generalized reasoning difficulties. (Author/RK)

Gender differences in multitasking reflect spatial ability.

PubMed

Mäntylä, Timo

2013-04-01

Demands involving the scheduling and interleaving of multiple activities have become increasingly prevalent, especially for women in both their paid and unpaid work hours. Despite the ubiquity of everyday requirements to multitask, individual and gender-related differences in multitasking have gained minimal attention in past research. In two experiments, participants completed a multitasking session with four gender-fair monitoring tasks and separate tasks measuring executive functioning (working memory updating) and spatial ability (mental rotation). In both experiments, males outperformed females in monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability mediated gender differences in multitasking. Menstrual changes accentuated these effects, such that gender differences in multitasking (and spatial ability) were eliminated between males and females who were in the menstrual phase of the menstrual cycle but not between males and females who were in the luteal phase. These findings suggest that multitasking involves spatiotemporal task coordination and that gender differences in multiple-task performance reflect differences in spatial ability.

Second-to-Fourth Digit Length, Testosterone and Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kempel, P.; Gohlke, B.; Klempau, J.; Zinsberger, P.; Reuter, M.; Hennig, J.

2005-01-01

Based on stimulating findings suggesting that prenatal levels of steroids may influence cognitive functions, a study with N=40 healthy volunteers of both sexes was conducted. Prenatal levels of testosterone (T) were estimated by use of the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) which is supposed to be controlled by the same genes involved in…

Heredity Factors in Spatial Visualization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandenberg, S. G.

Spatial visualization is not yet clearly understood. Some researchers have concluded that two factors or abilities are involved, spatial orientation and spatial visualization. Different definitions and different tests have been proposed for these two abilities. Several studies indicate that women generally perform more poorly on spatial tests than…

Walking and non-walking space in an equivalent virtual reality task: Sexual dimorphism and aging decline of spatial abilities.

PubMed

Tascón, Laura; Castillo, Joaquín; León, Irene; Cimadevilla, José Manuel

2018-07-16

Spatial memory enables us to locate places and objects in space, to determine our position and manage spatial relationships in our environment. Our operations are displayed in a space that sometimes is inaccessible. In this case, the impossibility of movement within the context forces individuals to rely on the information gathered from limited viewpoints. This study investigates the use of walking and non-walking spaces using two equivalent virtual reality tasks in which displacement is only permitted in one of them. One hundred and fifty participants were divided into three age groups: 50-59, 60-69 and 70-79 year-old subjects. The starting position changed pseudo-randomly and two difficulty levels were set, with one and three positions to be found. Results provided evidence for 70-79 year-old people impairment of their spatial abilities compared with 50-59 and 60-69 year-old groups. In both difficulty conditions, participants made more errors in the non-walking space than in the walking space. All participants showed an improvement in the last trials of the task. Moreover, sexual dimorphism was registered in the high level of difficulty, in which men outperformed women. This study supports the idea that aging impairs the organization of spatial representations of the environment, and that this aspect is more noticeable in conditions where displacement is limited. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visible Geology - Interactive online geologic block modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cockett, R.

2012-12-01

Geology is a highly visual science, and many disciplines require spatial awareness and manipulation. For example, interpreting cross-sections, geologic maps, or plotting data on a stereonet all require various levels of spatial abilities. These skills are often not focused on in undergraduate geoscience curricula and many students struggle with spatial relations, manipulations, and penetrative abilities (e.g. Titus & Horsman, 2009). A newly developed program, Visible Geology, allows for students to be introduced to many geologic concepts and spatial skills in a virtual environment. Visible Geology is a web-based, three-dimensional environment where students can create and interrogate their own geologic block models. The program begins with a blank model, users then add geologic beds (with custom thickness and color) and can add geologic deformation events like tilting, folding, and faulting. Additionally, simple intrusive dikes can be modelled, as well as unconformities. Students can also explore the interaction of geology with topography by drawing elevation contours to produce their own topographic models. Students can not only spatially manipulate their model, but can create cross-sections and boreholes to practice their visual penetrative abilities. Visible Geology is easy to access and use, with no downloads required, so it can be incorporated into current, paper-based, lab activities. Sample learning activities are being developed that target introductory and structural geology curricula with learning objectives such as relative geologic history, fault characterization, apparent dip and thickness, interference folding, and stereonet interpretation. Visible Geology provides a richly interactive, and immersive environment for students to explore geologic concepts and practice their spatial skills.; Screenshot of Visible Geology showing folding and faulting interactions on a ridge topography.

Toy-playing behavior, sex-role orientation, spatial ability, and science achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tracy, Dyanne M.

The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the possible relationships among children's extracurricular toy-playing habits, sex-role orientations, spatial abilities, and science achievement. Data were gathered from 282 midwestern, suburban, fifth-grade students. It was found that boys had significantly higher spatial skills than girls. No significant differences in spatial ability were found among students with different sex-role orientations. No significant differences in science achievement were found between girls and boys, or among students with the four different sex-role orientations. Students who had high spatial ability also had significantly higher science achievement scores than students with low spatial ability. Femininely oriented boys who reported low playing in the two-dimensional, gross-body-movement, and proportional-arrangement toy categories scored significantly higher on the test of science achievement than girls with the same sex-role and toy-playing behavior.

Age-Related Differences in Multiple Task Monitoring

PubMed Central

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Mäntylä, Timo

2014-01-01

Coordinating multiple tasks with narrow deadlines is particularly challenging for older adults because of age related decline in cognitive control functions. We tested the hypothesis that multiple task performance reflects age- and gender-related differences in executive functioning and spatial ability. Young and older adults completed a multitasking session with four monitoring tasks as well as separate tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. For both age groups, men exceeded women in multitasking, measured as monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of young adults' monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability was related to sex differences. For older adults, age and executive functioning, but not spatial ability, predicted multitasking performance. These results suggest that executive functions contribute to multiple task performance across the adult life span and that reliance on spatial skills for coordinating deadlines is modulated by age. PMID:25215609

Age-related differences in multiple task monitoring.

PubMed

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Mäntylä, Timo

2014-01-01

Coordinating multiple tasks with narrow deadlines is particularly challenging for older adults because of age related decline in cognitive control functions. We tested the hypothesis that multiple task performance reflects age- and gender-related differences in executive functioning and spatial ability. Young and older adults completed a multitasking session with four monitoring tasks as well as separate tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. For both age groups, men exceeded women in multitasking, measured as monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of young adults' monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability was related to sex differences. For older adults, age and executive functioning, but not spatial ability, predicted multitasking performance. These results suggest that executive functions contribute to multiple task performance across the adult life span and that reliance on spatial skills for coordinating deadlines is modulated by age.

Exploration, anxiety, and spatial memory in transgenic anophthalmic mice.

PubMed

Buhot, M C; Dubayle, D; Malleret, G; Javerzat, S; Segu, L

2001-04-01

Contradictory results are found in the literature concerning the role of vision in the perception of space or in spatial navigation, in part because of the lack of murine models of total blindness used so far. The authors evaluated the spatial abilities of anophthalmic transgenic mice. These mice did not differ qualitatively from their wild-type littermates in general locomotor activity, spontaneous alternation, object exploration, or anxiety, but their level of exploratory activity was generally lower. In the spatial version of the water maze, they displayed persistent thigmotaxic behavior and showed severe spatial learning impairments. However, their performances improved with training, suggesting that they may have acquired a rough representation of the platform position. These results suggest that modalities other than vision enable some degree of spatial processing in proximal and structured spaces but that vision is critical for accurate spatial navigation.

Toward real-time quantum imaging with a single pixel camera

DOE PAGES

Lawrie, B. J.; Pooser, R. C.

2013-03-19

In this paper, we present a workbench for the study of real-time quantum imaging by measuring the frame-by-frame quantum noise reduction of multi-spatial-mode twin beams generated by four wave mixing in Rb vapor. Exploiting the multiple spatial modes of this squeezed light source, we utilize spatial light modulators to selectively pass macropixels of quantum correlated modes from each of the twin beams to a high quantum efficiency balanced detector. Finally, in low-light-level imaging applications, the ability to measure the quantum correlations between individual spatial modes and macropixels of spatial modes with a single pixel camera will facilitate compressive quantum imagingmore » with sensitivity below the photon shot noise limit.« less

Geography literation to improve spatial intelligence of high school student

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Utami, WS; Zain, IM

2018-01-01

Spatial intelligence is deeply related to success in the STEM disciplines (science,technology, engineering, and math). spatial intelligence as a transversal capacity which is useful for everyday life but which cannot be characterized in any specific and distinctive way, as are, for example, linguistic or mathematical ability. The ability of geographical literacy relates to spatial intelligence. test results prove that the ability of high-liter geography of high school students found in students who have a good spatial intelligence score

Are Spatial Visualization Abilities Relevant to Virtual Reality?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Chwen Jen

2006-01-01

This study aims to investigate the effects of virtual reality (VR)-based learning environment on learners of different spatial visualization abilities. The findings of the aptitude-by-treatment interaction study have shown that learners benefit most from the Guided VR mode, irrespective of their spatial visualization abilities. This indicates that…

Measurement of Spatial Ability in an Introductory Graphic Communications Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Walter F., Jr.

2012-01-01

Published articles on spatial ability can be found in the fields of psychology and graphics education. In the "Engineering Design Graphics Journal" for 1936-1978, six articles concerning visualization (spatial ability) were listed. As published graphics research increased, the journal (1975-1996) listed 28 articles in the visualization…

Effects of gender, imagery ability, and sports practice on the performance of a mental rotation task.

PubMed

Habacha, Hamdi; Molinaro, Corinne; Dosseville, Fabrice

2014-01-01

Mental rotation is one of the main spatial abilities necessary in the spatial transformation of mental images and the manipulation of spatial parameters. Researchers have shown that mental rotation abilities differ between populations depending on several variables. This study uses a mental rotation task to investigate effects of several factors on the spatial abilities of 277 volunteers. The results demonstrate that high and low imagers performed equally well on this tasks. Athletes outperformed nonathletes regardless of their discipline, and athletes with greater expertise outperformed those with less experience. The results replicate the previously reported finding that men exhibit better spatial abilities than women. However, with high amounts of practice, the women in the current study were able to perform as well as men.

Spatial anxiety relates to spatial abilities as a function of working memory in children.

PubMed

Ramirez, Gerardo; Gunderson, Elizabeth A; Levine, Susan C; Beilock, Sian L

2012-01-01

Spatial ability is a strong predictor of students' pursuit of higher education in science and mathematics. However, very little is known about the affective factors that influence individual differences in spatial ability, particularly at a young age. We examine the role of spatial anxiety in young children's performance on a mental rotation task. We show that even at a young age, children report experiencing feelings of nervousness at the prospect of engaging in spatial activities. Moreover, we show that these feelings are associated with reduced mental rotation ability among students with high but not low working memory (WM). Interestingly, this WM × spatial anxiety interaction was only found among girls. We discuss these patterns of results in terms of the problem-solving strategies that boys versus girls use in solving mental rotation problems.

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test Form T: Initial Item-, Test-, Factor-, and Composite-Level Analyses

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

five lower-order factors representing verbal, math , spatial, perceptual speed, and aviation knowledge, and a hierarchical general factor showed the...Academic Aptitude Verbal Quant. Verbal Analogies 25 X X X Arithmetic Reasoning 25 X X Word Knowledge 25 X X X Math Knowledge 25 X X...Reasoning (AR) uses word problems to assess the ability to understand arithmetic relations. Math Knowledge (MK) assesses the ability to use

Spatial transformation abilities and their relation to later mathematics performance.

PubMed

Frick, Andrea

2018-04-10

Using a longitudinal approach, this study investigated the relational structure of different spatial transformation skills at kindergarten age, and how these spatial skills relate to children's later mathematics performance. Children were tested at three time points, in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade (N = 119). Exploratory factor analyses revealed two subcomponents of spatial transformation skills: one representing egocentric transformations (mental rotation and spatial scaling), and one representing allocentric transformations (e.g., cross-sectioning, perspective taking). Structural equation modeling suggested that egocentric transformation skills showed their strongest relation to the part of the mathematics test tapping arithmetic operations, whereas allocentric transformations were strongly related to Numeric-Logical and Spatial Functions as well as geometry. The present findings point to a tight connection between early mental transformation skills, particularly the ones requiring a high level of spatial flexibility and a strong sense for spatial magnitudes, and children's mathematics performance at the beginning of their school career.

Music exposure improves spatial cognition by enhancing the BDNF level of dorsal hippocampal subregions in the developing rats.

PubMed

Xing, Yingshou; Chen, Wenxi; Wang, Yanran; Jing, Wei; Gao, Shan; Guo, Daqing; Xia, Yang; Yao, Dezhong

2016-03-01

Previous research has shown that dorsal hippocampus plays an important role in spatial memory process. Music exposure can enhance brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression level in dorsal hippocampus (DH) and thus enhance spatial cognition ability. But whether music experience may affect different subregions of DH in the same degree remains unclear. Here, we studied the effects of exposure to Mozart K.448 on learning behavior in developing rats using the classical Morris water maze task. The results showed that early music exposure could enhance significantly learning performance of the rats in the water maze test. Meanwhile, the BDNF/TrkB level of dorsal hippocampus CA3 (dCA3) and dentate gyrus (dDG) was significantly enhanced in rats exposed to Mozart music as compared to those without music exposure. In contrast, the BDNF/TrkB level of dorsal hippocampus CA1 (dCA1) was not affected. The results suggest that the spatial memory improvement by music exposure in rats may be associated with the enhanced BDNF/TrkB level of dCA3 and dDG. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial variability of excess mortality during prolonged dust events in a high-density city: a time-stratified spatial regression approach.

PubMed

Wong, Man Sing; Ho, Hung Chak; Yang, Lin; Shi, Wenzhong; Yang, Jinxin; Chan, Ta-Chien

2017-07-24

Dust events have long been recognized to be associated with a higher mortality risk. However, no study has investigated how prolonged dust events affect the spatial variability of mortality across districts in a downwind city. In this study, we applied a spatial regression approach to estimate the district-level mortality during two extreme dust events in Hong Kong. We compared spatial and non-spatial models to evaluate the ability of each regression to estimate mortality. We also compared prolonged dust events with non-dust events to determine the influences of community factors on mortality across the city. The density of a built environment (estimated by the sky view factor) had positive association with excess mortality in each district, while socioeconomic deprivation contributed by lower income and lower education induced higher mortality impact in each territory planning unit during a prolonged dust event. Based on the model comparison, spatial error modelling with the 1st order of queen contiguity consistently outperformed other models. The high-risk areas with higher increase in mortality were located in an urban high-density environment with higher socioeconomic deprivation. Our model design shows the ability to predict spatial variability of mortality risk during an extreme weather event that is not able to be estimated based on traditional time-series analysis or ecological studies. Our spatial protocol can be used for public health surveillance, sustainable planning and disaster preparation when relevant data are available.

Acquisition of dental skills in preclinical technique courses: influence of spatial and manual abilities.

PubMed

Schwibbe, Anja; Kothe, Christian; Hampe, Wolfgang; Konradt, Udo

2016-10-01

Sixty years of research have not added up to a concordant evaluation of the influence of spatial and manual abilities on dental skill acquisition. We used Ackerman's theory of ability determinants of skill acquisition to explain the influence of spatial visualization and manual dexterity on the task performance of dental students in two consecutive preclinical technique courses. We measured spatial and manual abilities of applicants to Hamburg Dental School by means of a multiple choice test on Technical Aptitude and a wire-bending test, respectively. Preclinical dental technique tasks were categorized as consistent-simple and inconsistent-complex based on their contents. For analysis, we used robust regression to circumvent typical limitations in dental studies like small sample size and non-normal residual distributions. We found that manual, but not spatial ability exhibited a moderate influence on the performance in consistent-simple tasks during dental skill acquisition in preclinical dentistry. Both abilities revealed a moderate relation with the performance in inconsistent-complex tasks. These findings support the hypotheses which we had postulated on the basis of Ackerman's work. Therefore, spatial as well as manual ability are required for the acquisition of dental skills in preclinical technique courses. These results support the view that both abilities should be addressed in dental admission procedures in addition to cognitive measures.

The intelligence of observation: improving high school students' spatial ability by means of intervention unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patkin, Dorit; Dayan, Ester

2013-03-01

This case study of one class versus a control group focused on the impact of an intervention unit, which is not part of the regular curriculum, on the improvement of spatial ability of high school students (forty-six 12th-graders, aged 17-18, both boys and girls) in general as well as from a gender perspective. The study explored three sub-abilities: mental rotation (MR), spatial visualization (VS) and spatial orientation (SO). Findings indicated that the spatial orientation of the experimental group students had considerably improved. The findings also illustrated a significant gender-based advantage in favour of the boys in some of the spatial abilities even before the implementation of the intervention unit. The hypothesis relating to the reduction of the gender differences was not corroborated.

Early exposure to noise followed by predator stress in adulthood impairs the rat's re-learning flexibility in Radial Arm Water Maze.

PubMed

Jauregui-Huerta, Fernando; Ruvalcaba-Delgadillo, Yaveth; Garcia-Estrada, Joaquin; Feria-Velasco, Alfredo; Ramos-Zuñiga, Rodrigo; Gonzalez-Perez, Oscar; Luquin, Sonia

2010-01-01

This study investigated the cognitive effect of chronic exposure to environmental noise on RAWM performance of juvenile rats, and the ability of adult rats exposed to a novel acute stress to perform in the RAWM as a function of whether or not they were exposed to environmental noise as juveniles. We examined the consequences of exposure to noise during the juvenile-early periadolescent period on adulthood stress response by assessing cognitive performance in the RAWM. Male rats were exposed to environmental noise during the childhood-prepubescent period (21-35 PND), and their RAWM performance was tested at the end of the exposure to noise, and then again two months later when they had to cope with a new stressful event. RAWM execution included a 3-day training phase and a reversal learning phase on day 4. Escape latency, reference memory errors and working memory errors were compared between experimental and control groups. In addition, body weight gain and serum corticosterone levels were evaluated. Stressed rats demonstrated spatial impairment, as evidenced by poor execution on day 4. This effect was significantly noticeable in the doubly stressed group. Noise annoyance was evidenced by reduced body weight gain and increased serum corticosterone levels. Our results suggest that environmental noise may produce potent stress-like effects in developing subjects that can persist into adulthood, affecting spatial learning abilities. This cognitive impairment may restrict the subject's ability to learn under a new spatial configuration.

Virtual Technologies to Develop Visual-Spatial Ability in Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roca-González, Cristina; Martin-Gutierrez, Jorge; García-Dominguez, Melchor; Carrodeguas, Mª del Carmen Mato

2017-01-01

The present study assessed a short training experiment to improve spatial abilities using two tools based on virtual technologies: one focused on manipulation of specific geometric virtual pieces, and the other consisting of virtual orienteering game. The two tools can help improve spatial abilities required for many engineering problem-solving…

Does Spatial Training Improve Children's Mathematics Ability?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Yi-Ling; Mix, Kelly

2011-01-01

The authors' primary aim was to investigate a potential causal relationship between spatial ability and math ability. To do so, they used a pretest-training-posttest experimental design in which children received short-term spatial training and were tested on problem solving in math. They focused on first and second graders because earlier studies…

Object-Spatial Visualization and Verbal Cognitive Styles, and Their Relation to Cognitive Abilities and Mathematical Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haciomeroglu, Erhan Selcuk

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the object-spatial visualization and verbal cognitive styles among high school students and related differences in spatial ability, verbal-logical reasoning ability, and mathematical performance of those students. Data were collected from 348 students enrolled in Advanced Placement calculus courses at six high…

Spatial Ability Learning through Educational Robotics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Julià, Carme; Antolí, Juan Òscar

2016-01-01

Several authors insist on the importance of students' acquisition of spatial abilities and visualization in order to have academic success in areas such as science, technology or engineering. This paper proposes to discuss and analyse the use of educational robotics to develop spatial abilities in 12 year old students. First of all, a course to…

Cognitive Process Modeling of Spatial Ability: The Assembling Objects Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivie, Jennifer L.; Embretson, Susan E.

2010-01-01

Spatial ability tasks appear on many intelligence and aptitude tests. Although the construct validity of spatial ability tests has often been studied through traditional correlational methods, such as factor analysis, less is known about the cognitive processes involved in solving test items. This study examines the cognitive processes involved in…

3D-CAD Effects on Creative Design Performance of Different Spatial Abilities Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Y.

2014-01-01

Students' creativity is an important focus globally and is interrelated with students' spatial abilities. Additionally, three-dimensional computer-assisted drawing (3D-CAD) overcomes barriers to spatial expression during the creative design process. Does 3D-CAD affect students' creative abilities? The purpose of this study was to explore the…

Real-Life Spatial Skills, Handedness, and Family History of Handedness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ecuyer-Dab, I.; Tremblay, T.; Joanette, Y.; Passini, R.

2005-01-01

According to Annett (1985), pronounced left hemisphere lateralization for language abilities in women, as in female absolute right-handers, limits their right hemisphere capacity and spatial abilities. This study examines the degree of handedness and the family history of non-right-handedness with respect to real-life spatial abilities in women.…

Measurement of Spatial Ability: Construction and Validation of the Spatial Reasoning Instrument for Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramful, Ajay; Lowrie, Thomas; Logan, Tracy

2017-01-01

This article describes the development and validation of a newly designed instrument for measuring the spatial ability of middle school students (11-13 years old). The design of the Spatial Reasoning Instrument (SRI) is based on three constructs (mental rotation, spatial orientation, and spatial visualization) and is aligned to the type of spatial…

Developing Spatial Orientation and Spatial Memory with a Treasure Hunting Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Chien-Heng; Chen, Chien-Min; Lou, Yu-Chiung

2014-01-01

The abilities of both spatial orientation and spatial memory play very important roles in human navigation and spatial cognition. Since such abilities are difficult to strengthen through books or classroom instruction, there are no particular curricula or methods to assist in their development. Therefore, this study develops a spatial…

Different Perspectives: Spatial Ability Influences Where Individuals Look on a Timed Spatial Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roach, Victoria A.; Fraser, Graham M.; Kryklywy, James H.; Mitchell, Derek G. V.; Wilson, Timothy D.

2017-01-01

Learning in anatomy can be both spatially and visually complex. Pedagogical investigations have begun exploration as to how spatial ability may mitigate learning. Emerging hypotheses suggests individuals with higher spatial reasoning may attend to images differently than those who are lacking. To elucidate attentional patterns associated with…

Spatial release from masking improves sound pattern discrimination along a biologically relevant pulse-rate continuum in gray treefrogs

PubMed Central

Ward, Jessica L.; Buerkle, Nathan P.; Bee, Mark A.

2013-01-01

Frogs form large choruses during the mating season in which males produce loud advertisement calls to attract females and repel rival males. High background noise levels in these social aggregations can impair vocal perception. In humans, spatial release from masking contributes to our ability to understand speech in noisy social groups. Here, we tested the hypothesis that spatial separation between target signals and ‘chorus-shaped noise’ improves the ability of female gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) to perform a behavioral discrimination task based on perceiving differences in the pulsatile structure of advertisement calls. We used two-stimulus choice tests to measure phonotaxis (approach toward sound) in response to calls differing in pulse rate along a biologically relevant continuum between conspecific (50 pulses s−1) and heterospecific (20 pulses s−1) calls. Signals were presented in quiet, in colocated noise, and in spatially separated noise. In quiet conditions, females exhibited robust preferences for calls with relatively faster pulse rates more typical of conspecific calls. Behavioral discrimination between calls differing in pulse rate was impaired in the presence of colocated noise but similar between quiet and spatially separated noise conditions. Our results indicate that spatial release from energetic masking facilitates a biologically important temporal discrimination task in frogs. We discuss these results in light of previous work on spatial release from masking in frogs and other animals. PMID:24055623

Spatial cognition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaiser, Mary Kister; Remington, Roger

1988-01-01

Spatial cognition is the ability to reason about geometric relationships in the real (or a metaphorical) world based on one or more internal representations of those relationships. The study of spatial cognition is concerned with the representation of spatial knowledge, and our ability to manipulate these representations to solve spatial problems. Spatial cognition is utilized most critically when direct perceptual cues are absent or impoverished. Examples are provided of how human spatial cognitive abilities impact on three areas of space station operator performance: orientation, path planning, and data base management. A videotape provides demonstrations of relevant phenomena (e.g., the importance of orientation for recognition of complex, configural forms). The presentation is represented by abstract and overhead visuals only.

Predicting successful tactile mapping of virtual objects.

PubMed

Brayda, Luca; Campus, Claudio; Gori, Monica

2013-01-01

Improving spatial ability of blind and visually impaired people is the main target of orientation and mobility (O&M) programs. In this study, we use a minimalistic mouse-shaped haptic device to show a new approach aimed at evaluating devices providing tactile representations of virtual objects. We consider psychophysical, behavioral, and subjective parameters to clarify under which circumstances mental representations of spaces (cognitive maps) can be efficiently constructed with touch by blindfolded sighted subjects. We study two complementary processes that determine map construction: low-level perception (in a passive stimulation task) and high-level information integration (in an active exploration task). We show that jointly considering a behavioral measure of information acquisition and a subjective measure of cognitive load can give an accurate prediction and a practical interpretation of mapping performance. Our simple TActile MOuse (TAMO) uses haptics to assess spatial ability: this may help individuals who are blind or visually impaired to be better evaluated by O&M practitioners or to evaluate their own performance.

Pre-Service Primary School Teachers' Spatial Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marchis, Iuliana

2017-01-01

Spatial abilities are used in many aspects of everyday life, thus developing these abilities should be one of the most important goal of Mathematics Education. These abilities should be developed starting with early school years, thus pre-school and primary school teachers have an important role in setting the foundation of these abilities. A…

An Investigation of Gender Differences in the Components Influencing the Difficulty of Spatial Ability Items.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramer, Gene A.; Smith, Richard M.

2001-01-01

Examined the role that gender differences play in the determination of the components influencing the difficulty of spatial ability items. Results for 2,245 examinees taking a spatial ability test that is part of the Dental School Admission Battery show that component difficulties show little variation across gender. (SLD)

A Review of Spatial Ability Literature, Its Connection to Chemistry, and Implications for Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harle, Marissa; Towns, Marcy

2011-01-01

Chemists and scientists use spatial abilities as part of the way they understand and communicate their subject areas. A review of the foundational research literature in spatial ability and its connections to chemistry as a field and chemical education research allows for the formulation of implications for teaching in chemistry. (Contains 7…

The Malleability of Spatial Ability under Treatment of a FIRST LEGO League-Based Robotics Unit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coxon, Steven Vincent

2012-01-01

Spatial ability is important to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) success, but spatial talents are rarely developed in schools. Likewise, the gifted may become STEM innovators, but they are rarely provided with pedagogy appropriate to develop their abilities in schools. A stratified random sample of volunteer participants (n = 75)…

The Relationship between Spatial Visualization Ability and Students' Ability to Model 3D Objects from Engineering Assembly Drawings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branoff, T. J.; Dobelis, M.

2012-01-01

Spatial abilities have been used as a predictor of success in several engineering and technology disciplines (Strong & Smith, 2001). In engineering graphics courses, scores on spatial tests have also been used to predict success (Adanez & Velasco, 2002; Leopold, Gorska, & Sorby, 2001). Other studies have shown that some type of…

Improvement of Spatial Ability Using Innovative Tools: Alternative View Screen and Physical Model Rotator

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinsey, Brad L.; Towle, Erick; Onyancha, Richard M.

2008-01-01

Spatial ability, which is positively correlated with retention and achievement in engineering, mathematics, and science disciplines, has been shown to improve over the course of a Computer-Aided Design course or through targeted training. However, which type of training provides the most beneficial improvements to spatial ability and whether other…

Relationships among Preservice Primary Mathematics Teachers' Gender, Academic Success and Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turgut, Melih; Yilmaz, Suha

2012-01-01

The aim of this work is to investigate relationships among pre-service primary mathematics teachers' gender, academic success and spatial ability. The study was conducted in Izmir with 193 pre-service primary mathematics teachers of Dokuz Eylul University. In the work, spatial ability test, which consists of two main sub-tests measuring spatial…

The Role of Visuo-Spatial Abilities in Recall of Spatial Descriptions: A Mediation Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meneghetti, Chiara; De Beni, Rossana; Pazzaglia, Francesca; Gyselinck, Valerie

2011-01-01

This research investigates how visuo-spatial abilities (such as mental rotation--MR--and visuo-spatial working memory--VSWM--) work together to influence the recall of environmental descriptions. We tested a mediation model in which VSWM was assumed to mediate the relationship between MR and spatial text recall. First, 120 participants were…

Enhancing Spatial Attention and Working Memory in Younger and Older Adults

PubMed Central

Rolle, Camarin E.; Anguera, Joaquin A.; Skinner, Sasha N.; Voytek, Bradley; Gazzaley, Adam

2018-01-01

Daily experiences demand both focused and broad allocation of attention for us to interact efficiently with our complex environments. Many types of attention have shown age-related decline, although there is also evidence that such deficits may be remediated with cognitive training. However, spatial attention abilities have shown inconsistent age-related differences, and the extent of potential enhancement of these abilities remains unknown. Here, we assessed spatial attention in both healthy younger and older adults and trained this ability in both age groups for 5 hr over the course of 2 weeks using a custom-made, computerized mobile training application. We compared training-related gains on a spatial attention assessment and spatial working memory task to age-matched controls who engaged in expectancy-matched, active placebo computerized training. Age-related declines in spatial attention abilities were observed regardless of task difficulty. Spatial attention training led to improved focused and distributed attention abilities as well as improved spatial working memory in both younger and older participants. No such improvements were observed in either of the age-matched control groups. Note that these findings were not a function of improvements in simple response time, as basic motoric function did not change after training. Furthermore, when using change in simple response time as a covariate, all findings remained significant. These results suggest that spatial attention training can lead to enhancements in spatial working memory regardless of age. PMID:28654361

Enhancing Spatial Attention and Working Memory in Younger and Older Adults.

PubMed

Rolle, Camarin E; Anguera, Joaquin A; Skinner, Sasha N; Voytek, Bradley; Gazzaley, Adam

2017-09-01

Daily experiences demand both focused and broad allocation of attention for us to interact efficiently with our complex environments. Many types of attention have shown age-related decline, although there is also evidence that such deficits may be remediated with cognitive training. However, spatial attention abilities have shown inconsistent age-related differences, and the extent of potential enhancement of these abilities remains unknown. Here, we assessed spatial attention in both healthy younger and older adults and trained this ability in both age groups for 5 hr over the course of 2 weeks using a custom-made, computerized mobile training application. We compared training-related gains on a spatial attention assessment and spatial working memory task to age-matched controls who engaged in expectancy-matched, active placebo computerized training. Age-related declines in spatial attention abilities were observed regardless of task difficulty. Spatial attention training led to improved focused and distributed attention abilities as well as improved spatial working memory in both younger and older participants. No such improvements were observed in either of the age-matched control groups. Note that these findings were not a function of improvements in simple response time, as basic motoric function did not change after training. Furthermore, when using change in simple response time as a covariate, all findings remained significant. These results suggest that spatial attention training can lead to enhancements in spatial working memory regardless of age.

Sex differences in cognition among illiterate Bangladeshis: a comparison with literate Bangladeshis and Swedes.

PubMed

Herlitz, Agneta; Kabir, Zarina N

2006-12-01

We investigated the presence and magnitude of sex differences in late adulthood, assessing 426 illiterate Bangladeshis, 239 literate Bangladeshis, and 598 Swedes. The cognitive domains examined included calculation, episodic memory, spatial visualization, and global cognitive ability. In general, men performed at a higher level than women on tasks assessing calculation and spatial visualization, whereas women performed at a higher level than men on the episodic memory task. Notably, the pattern of cognitive sex differences was similar irrespective of nationality and literacy, although the magnitude of the male advantage was inversely related to level of education. Finally, the low performance of the illiterate women demonstrated the penalizing effect restrictions in public exposure might have on cognitive performance.

Performance on a virtual reality angled laparoscope task correlates with spatial ability of trainees.

PubMed

Rosenthal, Rachel; Hamel, Christian; Oertli, Daniel; Demartines, Nicolas; Gantert, Walter A

2010-08-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether trainees' performance on a virtual reality angled laparoscope navigation task correlates with scores obtained on a validated conventional test of spatial ability. 56 participants of a surgery workshop performed an angled laparoscope navigation task on the Xitact LS 500 virtual reality Simulator. Performance parameters were correlated with the score of a validated paper-and-pencil test of spatial ability. Performance at the conventional spatial ability test significantly correlated with performance at the virtual reality task for overall task score (p < 0.001), task completion time (p < 0.001) and economy of movement (p = 0.035), not for endoscope travel speed (p = 0.947). In conclusion, trainees' performance in a standardized virtual reality camera navigation task correlates with their innate spatial ability. This VR session holds potential to serve as an assessment tool for trainees.

Neurobehavioral changes and alteration of gene expression in the brains of metallothionein-I/II null mice exposed to low levels of mercury vapor during postnatal development.

PubMed

Yoshida, Minoru; Honda, Masako; Watanabe, Chiho; Satoh, Masahiko; Yasutake, Akira

2011-10-01

This study examined the neurobehavioral changes and alteration in gene expression in the brains of metallothionein (MT)-I/II null mice exposed to low-levels of mercury vapor (Hg(0)) during postnatal development. MT-I/II null and wild-type mice were repeatedly exposed to Hg(0) at 0.030 mg/m(3) (range: 0.023-0.043 mg/m(3)), which was similar to the current threshold value (TLV), for 6 hr per day until the 20th day postpartum. The behavioral effects were evaluated with locomotor activity in the open field (OPF), learning ability in the passive avoidance response (PA) and spatial learning ability in the Morris water maze (MM) at 12 weeks of age. Hg(0)-exposed MT-I/II null mice showed a significant decrease in total locomotor activity in females, though learning ability and spatial learning ability were not affected. Immediately after Hg(0) exposure, mercury concentrations in the brain did not exceed 0.5 µg/g in any animals. Hg(0) exposure resulted in significant alterations in gene expression in the brains of both strains using DNA microarray analysis. The number of altered genes in MT-I/II null mice was higher than that in wild-type mice and calcium-calmodulin kinase II (Camk2a) involved in learning and memory in down-regulated genes was detected. These results provide useful information to elucidate the development of behavioral toxicity following low-level exposure to Hg(0).

The malleability of spatial ability under treatment of a FIRST LEGO League-based robotics unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coxon, Steven Vincent

Spatial ability is important to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) success, but spatial talents are rarely developed in schools. Likewise, the gifted may become STEM innovators, but they are rarely provided with pedagogy appropriate to develop their abilities in schools. A stratified random sample of volunteer participants (n=75) ages 9-14 was drawn from 16 public school districts' gifted programs, including as many females (n=28) and children from groups traditionally underrepresented in gifted programs (n=18) as available. Participants were randomly divided into an experimental (n=38) and a control group (n=37) for an intervention study. All participants took the CogAT (form 6) Verbal Battery and the Project TALENT Spatial Ability Assessments. The experimental group participated in a simulation of the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) competition for 20 hours total over five consecutive days. All participants took the spatial measure another time. Experimental males evidenced significant and meaningful gains in measured spatial ability (Cohen's d = 0.87). Females did not evidence significant gains in measured spatial ability. This may be due to sampling error, gender differences in prior experience with LEGO, or differences in facets of spatial ability in the treatment or measurements. Further research studies with larger samples of females, other treatments and measurement tools, and longer treatment periods are recommended. The literature review revealed that FLL is beneficial for STEM engagement in both genders and its use in schools is recommended. The present study provides additional evidence for FLL's usefulness in increasing the number of individuals in the STEM pipeline. Keywords: spatial, gilled, talent, robotics, FIRST LEGO League, science

Spatial Abilities across the Adult Life Span

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borella, Erika; Meneghetti, Chiara; Ronconi, Lucia; De Beni, Rossana

2014-01-01

The study investigates age-related effects across the adult life span on spatial abilities (testing subabilities based on a distinction between spatial visualization, mental rotation, and perspective taking) and spatial self-assessments. The sample consisted of 454 participants (223 women and 231 men) from 20 to 91 years of age. Results showed…

Spatial Reasoning and Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

La Pierre, Sharon D.; Fellenz, Robert A.

This monograph contains two studies in which the notion of intelligence as one general basic ability is rejected and in its place is posited the existence of a specific type of mental ability described as "spatial intelligence.""Spatial Reasoning and Its Measurement" investigates the process of spatial reasoning in the adult through an analysis of…

Strategy Training Eliminates Sex Differences in Spatial Problem Solving in a STEM Domain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stieff, Mike; Dixon, Bonnie L.; Ryu, Minjung; Kumi, Bryna C.; Hegarty, Mary

2014-01-01

Poor spatial ability can limit success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Many initiatives aim to increase STEM achievement and degree attainment through selective recruitment of high-spatial students or targeted training to improve spatial ability. The current study examines an alternative approach to…

Deadlines in space: Selective effects of coordinate spatial processing in multitasking.

PubMed

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Konke, Linn Andersson; Mäntylä, Timo

2015-11-01

Many everyday activities require coordination and monitoring of multiple deadlines. One way to handle these temporal demands might be to represent future goals and deadlines as a pattern of spatial relations. We examined the hypothesis that spatial ability, in addition to executive functioning, contributes to individual differences in multitasking. In two studies, participants completed a multitasking session in which they monitored four digital clocks running at different rates. In Study 1, we found that individual differences in spatial ability and executive functions were independent predictors of multiple-task performance. In Study 2, we found that individual differences in specific spatial abilities were selectively related to multiple-task performance, as only coordinate spatial processing, but not categorical, predicted multitasking, even beyond executive functioning and numeracy. In both studies, males outperformed females in spatial ability and multitasking and in Study 2 these sex differences generalized to a simulation of everyday multitasking. Menstrual changes moderated the effects on multitasking, in that sex differences in coordinate spatial processing and multitasking were observed between males and females in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, but not between males and females at menses. Overall, these findings suggest that multiple-task performance reflects independent contributions of spatial ability and executive functioning. Furthermore, our results support the distinction of categorical versus coordinate spatial processing, and suggest that these two basic relational processes are selectively affected by female sex hormones and differentially effective in transforming and handling temporal patterns as spatial relations in the context of multitasking.

Predictors of Future Performance in Architectural Design Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, A. S.

2007-01-01

The link between academic performance in secondary education and the subsequent performance of students studying architecture at university level is commonly questioned by educators and admissions tutors. This paper investigates the potential for using measures of cognitive style and spatial ability as predictors of future potential in…

How Spatial Abilities Enhance, and Are Enhanced by, Dental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hegarty, Mary; Keehner, Madeleine; Khooshabeh, Peter; Montello, Daniel R.

2009-01-01

In two studies with a total of 324 participants, dentistry students were assessed on psychometric measures of spatial ability, reasoning ability, and on new measures of the ability to infer the appearance of a cross-section of a three-dimensional (3-D) object. We examined how these abilities and skills predict success in dental education programs,…

Effects of Gender Differences and Spatial Abilities within a Digital Pentominoes Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Jie Chi; Chen, Sherry Y.

2010-01-01

Spatial ability is a critical skill in geometric learning. Several studies investigate how to use digital games to improve spatial abilities. However, not every learner favors this kind of support. To this end, there is a need to examine how human factors affect learners' reactions to the use of a digital game to support geometric learning. In…

Acquisition of Dental Skills in Preclinical Technique Courses: Influence of Spatial and Manual Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwibbe, Anja; Kothe, Christian; Hampe, Wolfgang; Konradt, Udo

2016-01-01

Sixty years of research have not added up to a concordant evaluation of the influence of spatial and manual abilities on dental skill acquisition. We used Ackerman's theory of ability determinants of skill acquisition to explain the influence of spatial visualization and manual dexterity on the task performance of dental students in two…

Relationship of Pupils' Spatial Perception and Ability with Their Performance in Geography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Likouri, Anna-Aikaterini; Klonari, Aikaterini; Flouris, George

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between pupils' spatial perception and abilities and their performance in geography. The sample was 600 6th-grade pupils from various areas of Greece selected by the cluster sampling method. The study results showed that: a) the vast majority of pupils showed low spatial ability; b) there…

Novel object recognition ability in female mice following exposure to nanoparticle-rich diesel exhaust

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Win-Shwe, Tin-Tin, E-mail: tin.tin.win.shwe@nies.go.jp; Fujimaki, Hidekazu; Fujitani, Yuji

2012-08-01

Recently, our laboratory reported that exposure to nanoparticle-rich diesel exhaust (NRDE) for 3 months impaired hippocampus-dependent spatial learning ability and up-regulated the expressions of memory function-related genes in the hippocampus of female mice. However, whether NRDE affects the hippocampus-dependent non-spatial learning ability and the mechanism of NRDE-induced neurotoxicity was unknown. Female BALB/c mice were exposed to clean air, middle-dose NRDE (M-NRDE, 47 μg/m{sup 3}), high-dose NRDE (H-NRDE, 129 μg/m{sup 3}), or filtered H-NRDE (F-DE) for 3 months. We then investigated the effect of NRDE exposure on non-spatial learning ability and the expression of genes related to glutamate neurotransmission using amore » novel object recognition test and a real-time RT-PCR analysis, respectively. We also examined microglia marker Iba1 immunoreactivity in the hippocampus using immunohistochemical analyses. Mice exposed to H-NRDE or F-DE could not discriminate between familiar and novel objects. The control and M-NRDE-exposed groups showed a significantly increased discrimination index, compared to the H-NRDE-exposed group. Although no significant changes in the expression levels of the NMDA receptor subunits were observed, the expression of glutamate transporter EAAT4 was decreased and that of glutamic acid decarboxylase GAD65 was increased in the hippocampus of H-NRDE-exposed mice, compared with the expression levels in control mice. We also found that microglia activation was prominent in the hippocampal area of the H-NRDE-exposed mice, compared with the other groups. These results indicated that exposure to NRDE for 3 months impaired the novel object recognition ability. The present study suggests that genes related to glutamate metabolism may be involved in the NRDE-induced neurotoxicity observed in the present mouse model. -- Highlights: ► The effects of nanoparticle-induced neurotoxicity remain unclear. ► We investigated the effect of exposure to nanoparticles on learning behavior. ► We found that exposure to nanoparticles impaired novel object recognition ability.« less

The Michelin red guide of the brain: role of dopamine in goal-oriented navigation.

PubMed

Retailleau, Aude; Boraud, Thomas

2014-01-01

Spatial learning has been recognized over the years to be under the control of the hippocampus and related temporal lobe structures. Hippocampal damage often causes severe impairments in the ability to learn and remember a location in space defined by distal visual cues. Such cognitive disabilities are found in Parkinsonian patients. We recently investigated the role of dopamine in navigation in the 6-Hydroxy-dopamine (6-OHDA) rat, a model of Parkinson's disease (PD) commonly used to investigate the pathophysiology of dopamine depletion (Retailleau et al., 2013). We demonstrated that dopamine (DA) is essential to spatial learning as its depletion results in spatial impairments. Our results showed that the behavioral effect of DA depletion is correlated with modification of the neural encoding of spatial features and decision making processes in hippocampus. However, the origin of these alterations in the neural processing of the spatial information needs to be clarified. It could result from a local effect: dopamine depletion disturbs directly the processing of relevant spatial information at hippocampal level. Alternatively, it could result from a more distributed network effect: dopamine depletion elsewhere in the brain (entorhinal cortex, striatum, etc.) modifies the way hippocampus processes spatial information. Recent experimental evidence in rodents, demonstrated indeed, that other brain areas are involved in the acquisition of spatial information. Amongst these, the cortex-basal ganglia (BG) loop is known to be involved in reinforcement learning and has been identified as an important contributor to spatial learning. In particular, it has been shown that altered activity of the BG striatal complex can impair the ability to perform spatial learning tasks. The present review provides a glimpse of the findings obtained over the past decade that support a dialog between these two structures during spatial learning under DA control.

Single-photon-level quantum image memory based on cold atomic ensembles

PubMed Central

Ding, Dong-Sheng; Zhou, Zhi-Yuan; Shi, Bao-Sen; Guo, Guang-Can

2013-01-01

A quantum memory is a key component for quantum networks, which will enable the distribution of quantum information. Its successful development requires storage of single-photon light. Encoding photons with spatial shape through higher-dimensional states significantly increases their information-carrying capability and network capacity. However, constructing such quantum memories is challenging. Here we report the first experimental realization of a true single-photon-carrying orbital angular momentum stored via electromagnetically induced transparency in a cold atomic ensemble. Our experiments show that the non-classical pair correlation between trigger photon and retrieved photon is retained, and the spatial structure of input and retrieved photons exhibits strong similarity. More importantly, we demonstrate that single-photon coherence is preserved during storage. The ability to store spatial structure at the single-photon level opens the possibility for high-dimensional quantum memories. PMID:24084711

Application of adaptive optics in complicated and integrated spatial multisensor system and its measurement analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Quanxin; Guo, Chunjie; Cai, Meng; Liu, Hua

2007-12-01

Adaptive Optics Expand System is a kind of new concept spatial equipment, which concerns system, cybernetics and informatics deeply, and is key way to improve advanced sensors ability. Traditional Zernike Phase Contrast Method is developed, and Accelerated High-level Phase Contrast Theory is established. Integration theory and mathematical simulation is achieved. Such Equipment, which is based on some crucial components, such as, core optical system, multi mode wavefront sensor and so on, is established for AOES advantageous configuration and global design. Studies on Complicated Spatial Multisensor System Integratation and measurement Analysis including error analysis are carried out.

Innovative Allies: Spatial and Creative Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coxon, Steve V.

2012-01-01

Spatial and creative abilities are important for innovations in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, but talents are rarely developed from these abilities by schools, including among gifted children and adolescents who have a high potential to become STEM innovators. This article provides an overview of each ability and makes…

The predictive value of aptitude assessment in laparoscopic surgery: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Kramp, Kelvin H; van Det, Marc J; Hoff, Christiaan; Veeger, Nic J G M; ten Cate Hoedemaker, Henk O; Pierie, Jean-Pierre E N

2016-04-01

Current methods of assessing candidates for medical specialties that involve laparoscopic skills suffer from a lack of instruments to assess the ability to work in a minimally invasive surgery environment. A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate whether aptitude assessment can be used to predict variability in the acquisition and performance of laparoscopic skills. PubMed, PsycINFO and Google Scholar were searched to November 2014 for published and unpublished studies reporting the measurement of a form of aptitude for laparoscopic skills. The quality of studies was assessed with QUADAS-2. Summary correlations were calculated using a random-effects model. Thirty-four studies were found to be eligible for inclusion; six of these studies used an operating room performance measurement. Laparoscopic skills correlated significantly with visual-spatial ability (r = 0.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.25-0.39; p < 0.001), perceptual ability (r = 0.31, 95% CI 0.22-0.39; p < 0.001), psychomotor ability (r = 0.26, 95% CI 0.10-0.40; p = 0.003) and simulator-based assessment of aptitude (r = 0.64, 95% CI 0.52-0.73; p < 0.001). Three-dimensional dynamic visual-spatial ability showed a significantly higher correlation than intrinsic static visual-spatial ability (p = 0.024). In general, aptitude assessments are associated with laparoscopic skill level. Simulator-based assessment of aptitude appears to have the potential to represent a job sample and to enable the assessment of all forms of aptitude for laparoscopic surgery at once. A laparoscopy aptitude test can be a valuable additional tool in the assessment of candidates for medical specialties that require laparoscopic skills. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dispersal ability and habitat requirements determine landscape-level genetic patterns in desert aquatic insects.

PubMed

Phillipsen, Ivan C; Kirk, Emily H; Bogan, Michael T; Mims, Meryl C; Olden, Julian D; Lytle, David A

2015-01-01

Species occupying the same geographic range can exhibit remarkably different population structures across the landscape, ranging from highly diversified to panmictic. Given limitations on collecting population-level data for large numbers of species, ecologists seek to identify proximate organismal traits-such as dispersal ability, habitat preference and life history-that are strong predictors of realized population structure. We examined how dispersal ability and habitat structure affect the regional balance of gene flow and genetic drift within three aquatic insects that represent the range of dispersal abilities and habitat requirements observed in desert stream insect communities. For each species, we tested for linear relationships between genetic distances and geographic distances using Euclidean and landscape-based metrics of resistance. We found that the moderate-disperser Mesocapnia arizonensis (Plecoptera: Capniidae) has a strong isolation-by-distance pattern, suggesting migration-drift equilibrium. By contrast, population structure in the flightless Abedus herberti (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) is influenced by genetic drift, while gene flow is the dominant force in the strong-flying Boreonectes aequinoctialis (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). The best-fitting landscape model for M. arizonensis was based on Euclidean distance. Analyses also identified a strong spatial scale-dependence, where landscape genetic methods only performed well for species that were intermediate in dispersal ability. Our results highlight the fact that when either gene flow or genetic drift dominates in shaping population structure, no detectable relationship between genetic and geographic distances is expected at certain spatial scales. This study provides insight into how gene flow and drift interact at the regional scale for these insects as well as the organisms that share similar habitats and dispersal abilities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spatial Language and the Embedded Listener Model in Parents’ Input to Children

PubMed Central

Ferrara, Katrina; Silva, Malena; Wilson, Colin; Landau, Barbara

2015-01-01

Language is a collaborative act: in order to communicate successfully, speakers must generate utterances that are not only semantically valid, but also sensitive to the knowledge state of the listener. Such sensitivity could reflect use of an “embedded listener model,” where speakers choose utterances on the basis of an internal model of the listeners’ conceptual and linguistic knowledge. In this paper, we ask whether parents’ spatial descriptions incorporate an embedded listener model that reflects their children’s understanding of spatial relations and spatial terms. Adults described the positions of targets in spatial arrays to their children or to the adult experimenter. Arrays were designed so that targets could not be identified unless spatial relationships within the array were encoded and described. Parents of 3–4 year-old children encoded relationships in ways that were well-matched to their children’s level of spatial language. These encodings differed from those of the same relationships in speech to the adult experimenter (Experiment 1). By contrast, parents of individuals with severe spatial impairments (Williams syndrome) did not show clear evidence of sensitivity to their children’s level of spatial language (Experiment 2). The results provide evidence for an embedded listener model in the domain of spatial language, and indicate conditions under which the ability to model listener knowledge may be more challenging. PMID:26717804

Spatial Language and the Embedded Listener Model in Parents' Input to Children.

PubMed

Ferrara, Katrina; Silva, Malena; Wilson, Colin; Landau, Barbara

2016-11-01

Language is a collaborative act: To communicate successfully, speakers must generate utterances that are not only semantically valid but also sensitive to the knowledge state of the listener. Such sensitivity could reflect the use of an "embedded listener model," where speakers choose utterances on the basis of an internal model of the listener's conceptual and linguistic knowledge. In this study, we ask whether parents' spatial descriptions incorporate an embedded listener model that reflects their children's understanding of spatial relations and spatial terms. Adults described the positions of targets in spatial arrays to their children or to the adult experimenter. Arrays were designed so that targets could not be identified unless spatial relationships within the array were encoded and described. Parents of 3-4-year-old children encoded relationships in ways that were well-matched to their children's level of spatial language. These encodings differed from those of the same relationships in speech to the adult experimenter (Experiment 1). In contrast, parents of individuals with severe spatial impairments (Williams syndrome) did not show clear evidence of sensitivity to their children's level of spatial language (Experiment 2). The results provide evidence for an embedded listener model in the domain of spatial language and indicate conditions under which the ability to model listener knowledge may be more challenging. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Four-Dimensional Spatial Reasoning in Humans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aflalo, T. N.; Graziano, M. S. A.

2008-01-01

Human subjects practiced navigation in a virtual, computer-generated maze that contained 4 spatial dimensions rather than the usual 3. The subjects were able to learn the spatial geometry of the 4-dimensional maze as measured by their ability to perform path integration, a standard test of spatial ability. They were able to travel down a winding…

A Tale of Two Types of Perspective Taking: Sex Differences in Spatial Ability.

PubMed

Tarampi, Margaret R; Heydari, Nahal; Hegarty, Mary

2016-11-01

Sex differences in favor of males have been documented in measures of spatial perspective taking. In this research, we examined whether social factors (i.e., stereotype threat and the inclusion of human figures in tasks) account for these differences. In Experiment 1, we evaluated performance when perspective-taking tests were framed as measuring either spatial or social (empathetic) perspective-taking abilities. In the spatial condition, tasks were framed as measures of spatial ability on which males have an advantage. In the social condition, modified tasks contained human figures and were framed as measures of empathy on which females have an advantage. Results showed a sex difference in favor of males in the spatial condition but not the social condition. Experiments 2 and 3 indicated that both stereotype threat and including human figures contributed to these effects. Results suggest that females may underperform on spatial tests in part because of negative performance expectations and the character of the spatial tests rather than because of actual lack of abilities. © The Author(s) 2016.

The Joint Role of Spatial Ability and Imagery Strategy in Sustaining the Learning of Spatial Descriptions under Spatial Interference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meneghetti, Chiara; De Beni, Rossana; Gyselinck, Valerie; Pazzaglia, Francesca

2013-01-01

The present study investigates the joint role of spatial ability, imagery strategy and visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in spatial text processing. A set of 180 participants, half of them trained on the use of imagery strategy (training vs no-training groups), was further divided according to participants' high or low mental rotation ability…

Body Emotion Recognition Disproportionately Depends on Vertical Orientations during Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balas, Benjamin; Auen, Amanda; Saville, Alyson; Schmidt, Jamie

2018-01-01

Children's ability to recognize emotional expressions from faces and bodies develops during childhood. However, the low-level features that support accurate body emotion recognition during development have not been well characterized. This is in marked contrast to facial emotion recognition, which is known to depend upon specific spatial frequency…

Spatial hearing in Cope’s gray treefrog: I. Open and closed loop experiments on sound localization in the presence and absence of noise

PubMed Central

Caldwell, Michael S.; Bee, Mark A.

2014-01-01

The ability to reliably locate sound sources is critical to anurans, which navigate acoustically complex breeding choruses when choosing mates. Yet, the factors influencing sound localization performance in frogs remain largely unexplored. We applied two complementary methodologies, open and closed loop playback trials, to identify influences on localization abilities in Cope’s gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. We examined localization acuity and phonotaxis behavior of females in response to advertisement calls presented from 12 azimuthal angles, at two signal levels, in the presence and absence of noise, and at two noise levels. Orientation responses were consistent with precise localization of sound sources, rather than binary discrimination between sources on either side of the body (lateralization). Frogs were unable to discriminate between sounds arriving from forward and rearward directions, and accurate localization was limited to forward sound presentation angles. Within this region, sound presentation angle had little effect on localization acuity. The presence of noise and low signal-to-noise ratios also did not strongly impair localization ability in open loop trials, but females exhibited reduced phonotaxis performance consistent with impaired localization during closed loop trials. We discuss these results in light of previous work on spatial hearing in anurans. PMID:24504182

Age-related spatial learning impairment is unrelated to spinophilin immunoreactive spine number and protein levels in rat hippocampus.

PubMed

Calhoun, Michael E; Fletcher, Bonnie R; Yi, Stella; Zentko, Diana C; Gallagher, Michela; Rapp, Peter R

2008-08-01

Age-related impairments in hippocampus-dependent learning and memory tasks are not associated with a loss of hippocampal neurons, but may be related to alterations in synaptic integrity. Here we used stereological techniques to estimate spine number in hippocampal subfields using immunostaining for the spine-associated protein, spinophilin, as a marker. Quantification of the immunoreactive profiles was performed using the optical disector/fractionator technique. Aging was associated with a modest increase in spine number in the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus and CA1 stratum lacunosum-moleculare. By comparison, spinophilin protein levels in the hippocampus, measured by Western blot analysis, failed to differ as a function of age. Neither the morphological nor the protein level data were correlated with spatial learning ability across individual aged rats. The results extend current evidence on synaptic integrity in the aged brain, indicating that a substantial loss of dendritic spines and spinophilin protein in the hippocampus are unlikely to contribute to age-related impairment in spatial learning.

Virtual reality in neurologic rehabilitation of spatial disorientation

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Topographical disorientation (TD) is a severe and persistent impairment of spatial orientation and navigation in familiar as well as new environments and a common consequence of brain damage. Virtual reality (VR) provides a new tool for the assessment and rehabilitation of TD. In VR training programs different degrees of active motor control over navigation may be implemented (i.e. more passive spatial navigation vs. more active). Increasing demands of active motor control may overload those visuo-spatial resources necessary for learning spatial orientation and navigation. In the present study we used a VR-based verbally-guided passive navigation training program to improve general spatial abilities in neurologic patients with spatial disorientation. Methods Eleven neurologic patients with focal brain lesions, which showed deficits in spatial orientation, as well as 11 neurologic healthy controls performed a route finding training in a virtual environment. Participants learned and recalled different routes for navigation in a virtual city over five training sessions. Before and after VR training, general spatial abilities were assessed with standardized neuropsychological tests. Results Route finding ability in the VR task increased over the five training sessions. Moreover, both groups improved different aspects of spatial abilities after VR training in comparison to the spatial performance before VR training. Conclusions Verbally-guided passive navigation training in VR enhances general spatial cognition in neurologic patients with spatial disorientation as well as in healthy controls and can therefore be useful in the rehabilitation of spatial deficits associated with TD. PMID:23394289

Effects of a transient sea surface temperature anomaly on the energetics of the Mintz-Arakawa model atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chow, S. H.

1974-01-01

The possible response of the atmosphere, as simulated by the two level Mintz-Arakawa global general circulation model, to a transient North Pacific sea surface temperature anomaly is investigated in terms of the energetics both in the spatial and wave number domains. Results indicate that the transient SST variations of reasonable magnitude in the North Pacific Ocean can induce a disturbing effect on the global energetics both in the spatial and wave number domains. The ability of the two level Mintz-Arakawa model to simulate the atmospheric energetics is also examined. Except in the tropics, the model exhibits a reasonable and realistic energy budget.

Visualizing topography: Effects of presentation strategy, gender, and spatial ability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAuliffe, Carla

2003-10-01

This study investigated the effect of different presentation strategies (2-D static visuals, 3-D animated visuals, and 3-D interactive, animated visuals) and gender on achievement, time-spent-on visual treatment, and attitude during a computer-based science lesson about reading and interpreting topographic maps. The study also examined the relationship of spatial ability and prior knowledge to gender, achievement, and time-spent-on visual treatment. Students enrolled in high school chemistry-physics were pretested and given two spatial ability tests. They were blocked by gender and randomly assigned to one of three levels of presentation strategy or the control group. After controlling for the effects of spatial ability and prior knowledge with analysis of covariance, three significant differences were found between the versions: (a) the 2-D static treatment group scored significantly higher on the posttest than the control group; (b) the 3-D animated treatment group scored significantly higher on the posttest than the control group; and (c) the 2-D static treatment group scored significantly higher on the posttest than the 3-D interactive animated treatment group. Furthermore, the 3-D interactive animated treatment group spent significantly more time on the visual screens than the 2-D static treatment group. Analyses of student attitudes revealed that most students felt the landform visuals in the computer-based program helped them learn, but not in a way they would describe as fun. Significant differences in attitude were found by treatment and by gender. In contrast to findings from other studies, no gender differences were found on either of the two spatial tests given in this study. Cognitive load, cognitive involvement, and solution strategy are offered as three key factors that may help explain the results of this study. Implications for instructional design include suggestions about the use of 2-D static, 3-D animated and 3-D interactive animations as well as a recommendation about the inclusion of pretests in similar instructional programs. Areas for future research include investigating the effects of combinations of presentation strategies, continuing to examine the role of spatial ability in science achievement, and gaining cognitive insights about what it is that students do when learning to read and interpret topographic maps.

Individual Differences in a Spatial-Semantic Virtual Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Chaomei

2000-01-01

Presents two empirical case studies concerning the role of individual differences in searching through a spatial-semantic virtual environment. Discusses information visualization in information systems; cognitive factors, including associative memory, spatial ability, and visual memory; user satisfaction; and cognitive abilities and search…

Design and Development Computer-Based E-Learning Teaching Material for Improving Mathematical Understanding Ability and Spatial Sense of Junior High School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurjanah; Dahlan, J. A.; Wibisono, Y.

2017-02-01

This paper aims to make a design and development computer-based e-learning teaching material for improving mathematical understanding ability and spatial sense of junior high school students. Furthermore, the particular aims are (1) getting teaching material design, evaluation model, and intrument to measure mathematical understanding ability and spatial sense of junior high school students; (2) conducting trials computer-based e-learning teaching material model, asessment, and instrument to develop mathematical understanding ability and spatial sense of junior high school students; (3) completing teaching material models of computer-based e-learning, assessment, and develop mathematical understanding ability and spatial sense of junior high school students; (4) resulting research product is teaching materials of computer-based e-learning. Furthermore, the product is an interactive learning disc. The research method is used of this study is developmental research which is conducted by thought experiment and instruction experiment. The result showed that teaching materials could be used very well. This is based on the validation of computer-based e-learning teaching materials, which is validated by 5 multimedia experts. The judgement result of face and content validity of 5 validator shows that the same judgement result to the face and content validity of each item test of mathematical understanding ability and spatial sense. The reliability test of mathematical understanding ability and spatial sense are 0,929 and 0,939. This reliability test is very high. While the validity of both tests have a high and very high criteria.

Prenatal and postnatal polybrominated diphenyl ether exposure and visual spatial abilities in children

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vuong, Ann M.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are associated with impaired visual spatial abilities in toxicological studies, but no epidemiologic study has investigated PBDEs and visual spatial abilities in children. The Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment Study, a prospective birth cohort (2003–2006, Cincinnati, OH), was used to examine prenatal and childhood PBDEs and visual spatial abilities in 199 children. PBDEs were measured at 16±3 weeks gestation and at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 years using gas chromatography/isotope dilution high-resolution mass spectrometry. We used the Virtual Morris Water Maze to measure visual spatial abilities at 8 years. In covariate-adjusted models, 10-foldmore » increases in BDE-47, −99, and −100 at 5 years were associated with shorter completion times by 5.2 s (95% Confidence Interval [CI] −9.3, −1.1), 4.5 s (95% CI −8.1, −0.9), and 4.7 s (95% CI −9.0, −0.3), respectively. However, children with higher BDE-153 at 3 years had longer completion times (β=5.4 s, 95% CI −0.3, 11.1). Prenatal PBDEs were associated with improved visual spatial memory retention, with children spending a higher percentage of their search path in the correct quadrant. Child sex modified some associations between PBDEs and visual spatial learning. Longer path lengths were observed among males with increased BDE-47 at 2 and 3 years, while females had shorter paths. In conclusion, prenatal and postnatal BDE-28, −47, −99, and −100 at 5 and 8 years were associated with improved visual spatial abilities, whereas a pattern of impairments in visual spatial learning was noted with early childhood BDE-153 concentrations. - Highlights: • The VMWM test was used to assess visual spatial abilities in children at 8 years. • BDE-153 at 3 years was adversely associated with visual spatial learning. • BDE-47, −99, and −100 at 5 years was associated with better visual spatial learning. • Prenatal PBDEs were associated with improved visual spatial memory retention. • Male children were observed to perform more poorly on the VMWM than females.« less

Verbal and visual-spatial working memory and mathematical ability in different domains throughout primary school.

PubMed

Van de Weijer-Bergsma, Eva; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H; Van Luit, Johannes E H

2015-04-01

The relative importance of visual-spatial and verbal working memory for mathematics performance and learning seems to vary with age, the novelty of the material, and the specific math domain that is investigated. In this study, the relations between verbal and visual-spatial working memory and performance in four math domains (i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) at different ages during primary school are investigated. Children (N = 4337) from grades 2 through 6 participated. Visual-spatial and verbal working memory were assessed using online computerized tasks. Math performance was assessed at the start, middle, and end of the school year using a speeded arithmetic test. Multilevel Multigroup Latent Growth Modeling was used to model individual differences in level and growth in math performance, and examine the predictive value of working memory per grade, while controlling for effects of classroom membership. The results showed that as grade level progressed, the predictive value of visual-spatial working memory for individual differences in level of mathematics performance waned, while the predictive value of verbal working memory increased. Working memory did not predict individual differences between children in their rate of performance growth throughout the school year. These findings are discussed in relation to three, not mutually exclusive, explanations for such age-related findings.

Effects of a classroom intervention with spatial play materials on children's object and viewer transformation abilities.

PubMed

Vander Heyden, Karin M; Huizinga, Mariette; Jolles, Jelle

2017-02-01

Children practice their spatial skills when playing with spatial toys, such as construction materials, board games, and puzzles. Sex and SES differences are observed in the engagement in such spatial play activities at home, which relate to individual differences in spatial performance. The current study investigated the effects of explicitly providing spatial play activities in the school setting on different types of spatial ability. We presented 8- to 10-year-old children with a short and easy-to-adopt classroom intervention comprising a set of different spatial play materials. The design involved a pretest-posttest comparison between the intervention group (n = 70) and a control group without intervention (n = 70). Effects were examined on object transformation ability (i.e., a paper-and-pencil mental rotation and paper folding task) and viewer transformation ability (i.e., a hands-on 3D spatial perspective-taking task). Results showed specific effects: there were no differences between the intervention and control group in progress on the two object transformation tasks. Substantial improvements were found for the intervention group compared to the control group on the viewer transformation task. Training progress was not related to sex and socioeconomic background of the child. These findings support the value of spatial play in the classroom for the spatial development of children between 8 and 10 years of age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Why Do Spatial Abilities Predict Mathematical Performance?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tosto, Maria Grazia; Hanscombe, Ken B.; Haworth, Claire M. A.; Davis, Oliver S. P.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Dale, Philip S.; Malykh, Sergey; Plomin, Robert; Kovas, Yulia

2014-01-01

Spatial ability predicts performance in mathematics and eventual expertise in science, technology and engineering. Spatial skills have also been shown to rely on neuronal networks partially shared with mathematics. Understanding the nature of this association can inform educational practices and intervention for mathematical underperformance.…

Sex Differences in Mental Rotation and Spatial Visualization Ability: Can They Be Accounted for by Differences in Working Memory Capacity?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Scott Barry

2007-01-01

Sex differences in spatial ability are well documented, but poorly understood. In order to see whether working memory is an important factor in these differences, 50 males and 50 females performed tests of three-dimensional mental rotation and spatial visualization, along with tests of spatial and verbal working memory. Substantial differences…

Teaching Spatial Thinking in Undergraduate Geology Courses Using Tools and Strategies from Cognitive Science Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ormand, C. J.; Shipley, T. F.; Dutrow, B. L.; Goodwin, L. B.; Hickson, T. A.; Tikoff, B.; Atit, K.; Gagnier, K. M.; Resnick, I.

2015-12-01

Spatial visualization is an essential skill in the STEM disciplines, including the geological sciences. Undergraduate students, including geoscience majors in upper-level courses, bring a wide range of spatial skill levels to the classroom. Students with weak spatial skills may struggle to understand fundamental concepts and to solve geological problems with a spatial component. However, spatial thinking skills are malleable. Using strategies that have emerged from cognitive science research, we developed a set of curricular materials that improve undergraduate geology majors' abilities to reason about 3D concepts and to solve spatially complex geological problems. Cognitive science research on spatial thinking demonstrates that predictive sketching, making visual comparisons, gesturing, and the use of analogy can be used to develop students' spatial thinking skills. We conducted a three-year study of the efficacy of these strategies in strengthening the spatial skills of students in core geology courses at three universities. Our methodology is a quasi-experimental quantitative design, utilizing pre- and post-tests of spatial thinking skills, assessments of spatial problem-solving skills, and a control group comprised of students not exposed to our new curricular materials. Students taught using the new curricular materials show improvement in spatial thinking skills. Further analysis of our data, to be completed prior to AGU, will answer additional questions about the relationship between spatial skills and academic performance, spatial skills and gender, spatial skills and confidence, and the impact of our curricular materials on students who are struggling academically. Teaching spatial thinking in the context of discipline-based exercises has the potential to transform undergraduate education in the geological sciences by removing one significant barrier to success.

A look at spatial abilities in undergraduate women science majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lord, Thomas R.

Contemporary investigations indicate that men generally perform significantly better in tasks involving visuo-spatial awareness than do women. Researchers have attempted to explain this difference through several hypotheses but as yet the reason for the dimorphism has not been established. Further, contemporary studies have indicated that enhancement of mental image formation and manipulation is possible when students are subjected to carefully designed spatial interventions. Present research was conducted to see if women in the sciences were as spatial perceptively accurate as their male counterparts. The researcher also was interested to find if the women that received the intervention excercises improved in their visuo-spatial awareness as rapidly as their male counterparts.The study was conducted on science majors at a suburban two year college. The population was randomly divided into groups (experimental, placebo, and control) each containing approximately the same number of men and women. All groups were given a battery of spatial perception tests (Ekstrom et al, 1976) at the onset of the winter semester and a second version of the battery at the conclusion of the semester. An analysis of variance followed by Scheffe contrasts were run on the results. The statistics revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the nonexperimental groups on the tests. When the differences between the mean scores for the women in the experimental group were statistically compared to those of the men in the experimental group the women were improving at a more rapid rate. Many women have the capacity to develop visuo-spatial aptitude and although they may start out behind men in spatial ability, they learn quickly and often catch up to the men's level when given meaningful visuo-spatial interventions.

The long-term consequences of the exposure to increasing gravity levels on the muscular, vestibular and cognitive functions in adult mice.

PubMed

Bojados, Mickael; Jamon, Marc

2014-05-01

Adult male mice C57Bl6/J were exposed to gravity levels between 1G and 4G during three weeks, and the long-term consequences on muscular, vestibular, emotional, and cognitive abilities were evaluated at the functional level to test the hypothesis of a continuum in the response to the increasing gravitational force. In agreement with the hypothesis, the growth of body mass slowed down in relation with the gravity level during the centrifugation, and weight recovery was inversely proportional. On the other hand, the long-term consequences on muscular, vestibular, emotional, and cognitive abilities did not fit the hypothesis of a continuum in the response to the gravity level. The hypergravity acted as endurance training on muscle force until 3G, then became deleterious at 4G. The vestibular reactions were not affected until 4G. Persistent emotional reactions appeared at 3G, and particularly 4G. The mice centrifuged at 3G and 4G showed an impaired spatial learning, probably in relation with the increased level of anxiety, but a greater difficulty was also observed in mice exposed at 2G, suggesting another cause for the impairment of spatial memory. The long-term response to the hypergravity was shown to depend on both the level of gravity and the duration of exposition, with different importance depending on the function considered. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effects of age, spatial ability, and navigational information on navigational performance

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-12-01

The purpose of the study reported here was to examine whether age and spatial ability are factors that influence a driver?s ability to navigate and to use navigational displays. These factors were examined because previous research suggests that spat...

[Effects of the neurogenesis stimulator Ro 25-6981 upon formation of spatial skill in adult rats depend on the term of its administration and the animals' ability to learn].

PubMed

Solov'eva, O A; Storozheva, Z I; Proshin, A T; Sherstnev, V V

2011-02-01

Effect of administration of selective N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist Ro 25-6981 on learning and memory in a dose which is known to stimulate neoneurogenesis was assessed in adult rats with different abilities to formation of spatial skills in different time periods after the antagonist injection. Wistar male rats were trained to find hidden platform in the Morris water maze for 5 consecutive days. Rats' learning ability for spatial skill formation was evaluated depending on platform speed achievements. In re-training sessions (cues and platform location changed), it was found that all rats received Ro 25-6981 13 days before the re-training demonstrated impaired spatial memory. At the same time the inhibitor injected 29 days before re-training selectively facilitated the formation of spatial skill in animals with initially low learning abilities.

Discriminability measures for predicting readability of text on textured backgrounds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scharff, L. F.; Hill, A. L.; Ahumada, A. J. Jr; Watson, A. B. (Principal Investigator)

2000-01-01

Several discriminability measures were examined for their ability to predict reading search times for three levels of text contrast and a range of backgrounds (plain, a periodic texture, and four spatial-frequency-filtered textures created from the periodic texture). Search times indicate that these background variations only affect readability when the text contrast is low, and that spatial frequency content of the background affects readability. These results were not well predicted by the single variables of text contrast (Spearman rank correlation = -0.64) and background RMS contrast (0.08), but a global masking index and a spatial-frequency-selective masking index led to better predictions (-0.84 and -0.81, respectively). c2000 Optical Society of America.

Transforming Spatial Reasoning Skills in the Upper-Level Undergraduate Geoscience Classroom Through Curricular Materials Informed by Cognitive Science Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ormand, C. J.; Shipley, T. F.; Dutrow, B. L.; Goodwin, L. B.; Hickson, T. A.; Tikoff, B.; Atit, K.; Gagnier, K. M.; Resnick, I.

2014-12-01

Spatial visualization is an essential skill in the STEM disciplines, including the geosciences. Undergraduate students, including geoscience majors in upper-level courses, bring a wide range of spatial skill levels to the classroom. Students with weak spatial skills may be unable to understand fundamental concepts and to solve geological problems with a spatial component. However, spatial thinking skills are malleable. As a group of geoscience faculty members and cognitive psychologists, we have developed a set of curricular materials for Mineralogy, Sedimentology & Stratigraphy, and Structural Geology courses. These materials are designed to improve students' spatial skills, and in particular to improve students' abilities to reason about spatially complex 3D geological concepts and problems. Teaching spatial thinking in the context of discipline-based exercises has the potential to transform undergraduate STEM education by removing one significant barrier to success in the STEM disciplines. The curricular materials we have developed are based on several promising teaching strategies that have emerged from cognitive science research on spatial thinking. These strategies include predictive sketching, making visual comparisons, gesturing, and the use of analogy. We have conducted a three-year study of the efficacy of these materials in strengthening the spatial skills of students in upper-level geoscience courses at three universities. Our methodology relies on a pre- and post-test study design, with several tests of spatial thinking skills administered at the beginning and end of each semester. In 2011-2012, we used a "business as usual" approach to gather baseline data, measuring how much students' spatial thinking skills improved in response to the existing curricula. In the two subsequent years we have incorporated our new curricular materials, which can be found on the project website: http://serc.carleton.edu/spatialworkbook/activities.html Structural Geology students exposed to the new curricular materials are better able to solve some spatially challenging structural geological problems than students from the baseline year. We are continuing to analyze data from the Mineralogy and Sedimentology/Stratigraphy courses and will have completed the analysis by AGU.

Sex Differences in the Spatial Representation of Number

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bull, Rebecca; Cleland, Alexandra A.; Mitchell, Thomas

2013-01-01

There is a large body of accumulated evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies regarding how and where in the brain we represent basic numerical information. A number of these studies have considered how numerical representations may differ between individuals according to their age or level of mathematical ability, but one issue rarely…

Children's Development of Concepts Related to Country and Nationality: A Canadian Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, James A.

1980-01-01

Canadian children follow an apparent sequence in the development of a concept of nationality from a verbal level of understanding of geographical relationships (beginning about age six), to an ability to demonstrate spatial relationships, then to an understanding of one's nationality, at about age 10. There are important educational implications.…

Videogame interventions and spatial ability interactions.

PubMed

Redick, Thomas S; Webster, Sean B

2014-01-01

Numerous research studies have been conducted on the use of videogames as tools to improve one's cognitive abilities. While meta-analyses and qualitative reviews have provided evidence that some aspects of cognition such as spatial imagery are modified after exposure to videogames, other evidence has shown that matrix reasoning measures of fluid intelligence do not show evidence of transfer from videogame training. In the current work, we investigate the available evidence for transfer specifically to nonverbal intelligence and spatial ability measures, given recent research that these abilities may be most sensitive to training on cognitive and working memory tasks. Accordingly, we highlight a few studies that on the surface provide evidence for transfer to spatial abilities, but a closer look at the pattern of data does not reveal a clean interpretation of the results. We discuss the implications of these results in relation to research design and statistical analysis practices.

Videogame interventions and spatial ability interactions

PubMed Central

Redick, Thomas S.; Webster, Sean B.

2014-01-01

Numerous research studies have been conducted on the use of videogames as tools to improve one’s cognitive abilities. While meta-analyses and qualitative reviews have provided evidence that some aspects of cognition such as spatial imagery are modified after exposure to videogames, other evidence has shown that matrix reasoning measures of fluid intelligence do not show evidence of transfer from videogame training. In the current work, we investigate the available evidence for transfer specifically to nonverbal intelligence and spatial ability measures, given recent research that these abilities may be most sensitive to training on cognitive and working memory tasks. Accordingly, we highlight a few studies that on the surface provide evidence for transfer to spatial abilities, but a closer look at the pattern of data does not reveal a clean interpretation of the results. We discuss the implications of these results in relation to research design and statistical analysis practices. PMID:24723880

Spatial abilities and technical skills performance in health care: a systematic review.

PubMed

Langlois, Jean; Bellemare, Christian; Toulouse, Josée; Wells, George A

2015-11-01

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between spatial abilities and technical skills performance in health care in beginners and to compare this relationship with those in intermediate and autonomous learners. Search criteria included 'spatial abilities' and 'technical skills'. Keywords related to these criteria were defined. A literature search was conducted to 20 December, 2013 in Scopus (including MEDLINE) and in several databases on EBSCOhost platforms (CINAHL Plus with Full Text, ERIC, Education Source and PsycINFO). Citations were obtained and reviewed by two independent reviewers. Articles related to retained citations were reviewed and a final list of eligible articles was determined. Articles were assessed for quality using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network-50 assessment instrument. Data were extracted from articles in a systematic way. Correlations between spatial abilities test scores and technical skills performance were identified. A series of 8289 citations was obtained. Eighty articles were retained and fully reviewed, yielding 36 eligible articles. The systematic review found a tendency for spatial abilities to be negatively correlated with the duration of technical skills and positively correlated with the quality of technical skills performance in beginners and intermediate learners. Pooled correlations of studies were -0.46 (p = 0.03) and -0.38 (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.53 to -0.21) for duration and 0.33 (95% CI 0.20-0.44) and 0.41 (95% CI 0.26-0.54) for quality of technical skills performance in beginners and intermediate learners, respectively. However, correlations between spatial abilities test scores and technical skills performance were not statistically significant in autonomous learners. Spatial abilities are an important factor to consider in selecting and training individuals in technical skills in health care. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spatial Visualisation and Cognitive Style: How Do Gender Differences Play Out?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramful, Ajay; Lowrie, Tom

2015-01-01

This study investigated potential gender differences in a sample of 807 Year 6 Singaporean students in relation to two variables: spatial visualisation ability and cognitive style. In contrast to the general trend, overall there were no significant gender differences on spatial visualisation ability. However, gender differences were prevalent…

Gender Differences in Patterns of Spatial Ability, Environmental Cognition, and Math and English Achievement in Late Adolescence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, Jane L.; Ferguson, Lucy Rau

1989-01-01

Explored relationships among three measures of spatial ability--Embedded Figures Test, Mental Rotations Test, and Differential Aptitude Spatial Relations subtest--an environmental cognition task, American College Testing mathematics and English achievement in undergraduates (N=282). Interpreted results as substantiating sex role socialization…

Spatial Ability through Engineering Graphics Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marunic, Gordana; Glazar, Vladimir

2013-01-01

Spatial ability has been confirmed to be of particular importance for successful engineering graphics education and to be a component of human intelligence that can be improved through instruction and training. Consequently, the creation and communication by means of graphics demand careful development of spatial skills provided by the balanced…

Building and Retaining the Career Force: New Procedures for Accessing and Assigning Army Enlisted Personnel: Annual Report 1990 Fiscal Year

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-01

researched, valid measure of general cognitive abilities. However, many critical Army tasks appear to require psychomotor and perceptual skills for their...temperament (achievement, discipline, stress toler- ance), psychomotor ability (e.g., eye-hand coordination), and spatial ability to job performance...answered: (1) What combinations of aptitude, temperament, psychomotor ability, and spatial ability, measured at or before entry into the Army, best

Environmental enrichment decreases GABAergic inhibition and improves cognitive abilities, synaptic plasticity, and visual functions in a mouse model of Down syndrome

PubMed Central

Begenisic, Tatjana; Spolidoro, Maria; Braschi, Chiara; Baroncelli, Laura; Milanese, Marco; Pietra, Gianluca; Fabbri, Maria E.; Bonanno, Giambattista; Cioni, Giovanni; Maffei, Lamberto; Sale, Alessandro

2011-01-01

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic disorder associated with mental retardation. It has been repeatedly shown that Ts65Dn mice, the prime animal model for DS, have severe cognitive and neural plasticity defects due to excessive inhibition. We report that increasing sensory-motor stimulation in adulthood through environmental enrichment (EE) reduces brain inhibition levels and promotes recovery of spatial memory abilities, hippocampal synaptic plasticity, and visual functions in adult Ts65Dn mice. PMID:22207837

A comparison of the affect of two types of student behavior with manipulatives on the development of projective spatial structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Herbert

The primary problem investigated was whether examining materials from a variety of perspecitives enhances the development of projective spatial abilities more than examining materials from a single perspective. A secondary consideration dealt with gender effects. One hundred and five (56 females and 49 males) fifth grade students were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Two teachers taught two classes apiece-one receiving instruction encouraging examination of materials from a single perspective, the other from multiple perspectives. All four groups received instruction consisting of access to manipulatives-SCIIS, 2nd edition, Level 5. Instruction occurred twice a week, 45 minutes per session, for 6 weeks. The experimental design was the Solomon Four Group Design. A Battery of 8 Piagetian-type tasks were used to assess possession of the projective groupings. The main and interactive effects of pretesting were determined to be negligible, while the treatment was determined to have a statistically significant effect on the development on projective spatial abilities. Gender was determined to have no direct effect on the dependent variables.

Disparities in visuo-spatial constructive abilities in Williams syndrome patients with typical deletion on chromosome 7q11.23.

PubMed

Muramatsu, Yukako; Tokita, Yoshihito; Mizuno, Seiji; Nakamura, Miho

2017-02-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is known for its uneven cognitive abilities, especially the difficulty in visuo-spatial cognition, though there are some inter-individual phenotypic differences. It has been proposed that the difficulty in visuo-spatial cognition of WS patients can be attributed to a haploinsufficiency of some genes located on the deleted region in 7q11.23, based on an examination of atypical deletions identified in WS patients with atypical cognitive deficits. According to this hypothesis, the inter-individual differences in visuo-spatial cognitive ability arise from variations in deletion. We investigated whether there were inter-individual differences in the visuo-spatial constructive abilities of five unrelated WS patients with the typical deletion on chromosome 7q11.23 that includes the candidate genes contributing visuo-spatial difficulty in WS patients. We used tests with three-dimensional factors such as Benton's three-dimensional block construction test, which are considered to be more sensitive than those with only two-dimensional factors. There were diverse inter-individual differences in the visuo-spatial constructive abilities among the present participants who shared the same typical genomic deletion of WS. One of the participants showed almost equivalent performances to typically developing adults in those tests. In the present study, we found a wide range of cognitive abilities in visuo-spatial construction even among the patients with a common deletion pattern of WS. The findings suggest that attributing differences in the phenotypes entirely to genetic factors such as an atypical deletion may not be always correct. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial Ability: A Neglected Talent in Educational and Occupational Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kell, Harrison J.; Lubinski, David

2013-01-01

For over 60 years, longitudinal research on tens of thousands of high ability and intellectually precocious youth has consistently revealed the importance of spatial ability for hands-on creative accomplishments and the development of expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) disciplines. Yet, individual differences in…

Testing Based on Understanding: Implications from Studies of Spatial Ability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egan, Dennis E.

1979-01-01

The information-processing approach and results of research on spatial ability are analyzed. Performance consists of a sequence of distinct mental operations that seem general across subjects, and can be individually measured. New interpretations for some classical concepts in psychological testing and procedures for abilities are suggested.…

Sea level: measuring the bounding surfaces of the ocean

PubMed Central

Tamisiea, Mark E.; Hughes, Chris W.; Williams, Simon D. P.; Bingley, Richard M.

2014-01-01

The practical need to understand sea level along the coasts, such as for safe navigation given the spatially variable tides, has resulted in tide gauge observations having the distinction of being some of the longest instrumental ocean records. Archives of these records, along with geological constraints, have allowed us to identify the century-scale rise in global sea level. Additional data sources, particularly satellite altimetry missions, have helped us to better identify the rates and causes of sea-level rise and the mechanisms leading to spatial variability in the observed rates. Analysis of all of the data reveals the need for long-term and stable observation systems to assess accurately the regional changes as well as to improve our ability to estimate future changes in sea level. While information from many scientific disciplines is needed to understand sea-level change, this review focuses on contributions from geodesy and the role of the ocean's bounding surfaces: the sea surface and the Earth's crust. PMID:25157196

Object-processing neural efficiency differentiates object from spatial visualizers.

PubMed

Motes, Michael A; Malach, Rafael; Kozhevnikov, Maria

2008-11-19

The visual system processes object properties and spatial properties in distinct subsystems, and we hypothesized that this distinction might extend to individual differences in visual processing. We conducted a functional MRI study investigating the neural underpinnings of individual differences in object versus spatial visual processing. Nine participants of high object-processing ability ('object' visualizers) and eight participants of high spatial-processing ability ('spatial' visualizers) were scanned, while they performed an object-processing task. Object visualizers showed lower bilateral neural activity in lateral occipital complex and lower right-lateralized neural activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The data indicate that high object-processing ability is associated with more efficient use of visual-object resources, resulting in less neural activity in the object-processing pathway.

Assessing implicit odor localization in humans using a cross-modal spatial cueing paradigm.

PubMed

Moessnang, Carolin; Finkelmeyer, Andreas; Vossen, Alexandra; Schneider, Frank; Habel, Ute

2011-01-01

Navigation based on chemosensory information is one of the most important skills in the animal kingdom. Studies on odor localization suggest that humans have lost this ability. However, the experimental approaches used so far were limited to explicit judgements, which might ignore a residual ability for directional smelling on an implicit level without conscious appraisal. A novel cueing paradigm was developed in order to determine whether an implicit ability for directional smelling exists. Participants performed a visual two-alternative forced choice task in which the target was preceded either by a side-congruent or a side-incongruent olfactory spatial cue. An explicit odor localization task was implemented in a second experiment. No effect of cue congruency on mean reaction times could be found. However, a time by condition interaction emerged, with significantly slower responses to congruently compared to incongruently cued targets at the beginning of the experiment. This cueing effect gradually disappeared throughout the course of the experiment. In addition, participants performed at chance level in the explicit odor localization task, thus confirming the results of previous research. The implicit cueing task suggests the existence of spatial information processing in the olfactory system. Response slowing after a side-congruent olfactory cue is interpreted as a cross-modal attentional interference effect. In addition, habituation might have led to a gradual disappearance of the cueing effect. It is concluded that under immobile conditions with passive monorhinal stimulation, humans are unable to explicitly determine the location of a pure odorant. Implicitly, however, odor localization seems to exert an influence on human behaviour. To our knowledge, these data are the first to show implicit effects of odor localization on overt human behaviour and thus support the hypothesis of residual directional smelling in humans. © 2011 Moessnang et al.

Structure Mapping in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Levels of Information Processing and Relations to Executive Functions.

PubMed

Hetzroni, Orit E; Shalahevich, Kiril

2018-03-01

Analogical reasoning was investigated among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) without intellectual disabilities and typical development (TD). Children were asked to select one of two targets in two conditions: (1) with and without spatial structure similarity; (2) with and without a perceptual distractor. Results demonstrate that children with ASD were able to select targets based on structural similarity, but this ability decreased to chance level when presented with a perceptual distractor. Everyday executive functions were positively correlated with structural selections among children with ASD. Results suggest that although children with ASD were able to select based on systematicity principle, perceptual distractor decreased their selection so that their cognitive system produced less structure similarities, that negatively affects spatial analogical reasoning.

Executive Control Over Cognition: Stronger and Earlier Rule-Based Modulation of Spatial Category Signals in Prefrontal Cortex Relative to Parietal Cortex

PubMed Central

Goodwin, Shikha J.; Blackman, Rachael K.; Sakellaridi, Sofia

2012-01-01

Human cognition is characterized by flexibility, the ability to select not only which action but which cognitive process to engage to best achieve the current behavioral objective. The ability to tailor information processing in the brain to rules, goals, or context is typically referred to as executive control, and although there is consensus that prefrontal cortex is importantly involved, at present we have an incomplete understanding of how computational flexibility is implemented at the level of prefrontal neurons and networks. To better understand the neural mechanisms of computational flexibility, we simultaneously recorded the electrical activity of groups of single neurons within prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex of monkeys performing a task that required executive control of spatial cognitive processing. In this task, monkeys applied different spatial categorization rules to reassign the same set of visual stimuli to alternative categories on a trial-by-trial basis. We found that single neurons were activated to represent spatially defined categories in a manner that was rule dependent, providing a physiological signature of a cognitive process that was implemented under executive control. We found also that neural signals coding rule-dependent categories were distributed between the parietal and prefrontal cortex—however, not equally. Rule-dependent category signals were stronger, more powerfully modulated by the rule, and earlier to emerge in prefrontal cortex relative to parietal cortex. This suggests that prefrontal cortex may initiate the switch in neural representation at a network level that is important for computational flexibility. PMID:22399773

Team performance in networked supervisory control of unmanned air vehicles: effects of automation, working memory, and communication content.

PubMed

McKendrick, Ryan; Shaw, Tyler; de Visser, Ewart; Saqer, Haneen; Kidwell, Brian; Parasuraman, Raja

2014-05-01

Assess team performance within a net-worked supervisory control setting while manipulating automated decision aids and monitoring team communication and working memory ability. Networked systems such as multi-unmanned air vehicle (UAV) supervision have complex properties that make prediction of human-system performance difficult. Automated decision aid can provide valuable information to operators, individual abilities can limit or facilitate team performance, and team communication patterns can alter how effectively individuals work together. We hypothesized that reliable automation, higher working memory capacity, and increased communication rates of task-relevant information would offset performance decrements attributed to high task load. Two-person teams performed a simulated air defense task with two levels of task load and three levels of automated aid reliability. Teams communicated and received decision aid messages via chat window text messages. Task Load x Automation effects were significant across all performance measures. Reliable automation limited the decline in team performance with increasing task load. Average team spatial working memory was a stronger predictor than other measures of team working memory. Frequency of team rapport and enemy location communications positively related to team performance, and word count was negatively related to team performance. Reliable decision aiding mitigated team performance decline during increased task load during multi-UAV supervisory control. Team spatial working memory, communication of spatial information, and team rapport predicted team success. An automated decision aid can improve team performance under high task load. Assessment of spatial working memory and the communication of task-relevant information can help in operator and team selection in supervisory control systems.

Sodium p-Aminosalicylic Acid Reverses Sub-Chronic Manganese-Induced Impairments of Spatial Learning and Memory Abilities in Rats, but Fails to Restore γ-Aminobutyric Acid Levels.

PubMed

Li, Shao-Jun; Ou, Chao-Yan; He, Sheng-Nan; Huang, Xiao-Wei; Luo, Hai-Lan; Meng, Hao-Yang; Lu, Guo-Dong; Jiang, Yue-Ming; Vieira Peres, Tanara; Luo, Yi-Ni; Deng, Xiang-Fa

2017-04-10

Excessive manganese (Mn) exposure is not only a health risk for occupational workers, but also for the general population. Sodium para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS-Na) has been successfully used in the treatment of manganism, but the involved molecular mechanisms have yet to be determined. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of PAS-Na on sub-chronic Mn exposure-induced impairments of spatial learning and memory, and determine the possible involvements of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) metabolism in vivo. Sprague-Dawley male rats received daily intraperitoneal injections MnCl₂ (as 6.55 mg/kg Mn body weight, five days per week for 12 weeks), followed by daily subcutaneous injections of 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg PAS-Na for an additional six weeks. Mn exposure significantly impaired spatial learning and memory ability, as noted in the Morris water maze test, and the following PAS-Na treatment successfully restored these adverse effects to levels indistinguishable from controls. Unexpectedly, PAS-Na failed to recover the Mn-induced decrease in the overall GABA levels, although PAS-Na treatment reversed Mn-induced alterations in the enzyme activities directly responsible for the synthesis and degradation of GABA (glutamate decarboxylase and GABA-transaminase, respectively). Moreover, Mn exposure caused an increase of GABA transporter 1 (GAT-1) and decrease of GABA A receptor (GABA A ) in transcriptional levels, which could be reverted by the highest dose of 300 mg/kg PAS-Na treatment. In conclusion, the GABA metabolism was interrupted by sub-chronic Mn exposure. However, the PAS-Na treatment mediated protection from sub-chronic Mn exposure-induced neurotoxicity, which may not be dependent on the GABA metabolism.

Sodium p-Aminosalicylic Acid Reverses Sub-Chronic Manganese-Induced Impairments of Spatial Learning and Memory Abilities in Rats, but Fails to Restore γ-Aminobutyric Acid Levels

PubMed Central

Li, Shao-Jun; Ou, Chao-Yan; He, Sheng-Nan; Huang, Xiao-Wei; Luo, Hai-Lan; Meng, Hao-Yang; Lu, Guo-Dong; Jiang, Yue-Ming; Vieira Peres, Tanara; Luo, Yi-Ni; Deng, Xiang-Fa

2017-01-01

Excessive manganese (Mn) exposure is not only a health risk for occupational workers, but also for the general population. Sodium para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS-Na) has been successfully used in the treatment of manganism, but the involved molecular mechanisms have yet to be determined. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of PAS-Na on sub-chronic Mn exposure-induced impairments of spatial learning and memory, and determine the possible involvements of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) metabolism in vivo. Sprague-Dawley male rats received daily intraperitoneal injections MnCl2 (as 6.55 mg/kg Mn body weight, five days per week for 12 weeks), followed by daily subcutaneous injections of 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg PAS-Na for an additional six weeks. Mn exposure significantly impaired spatial learning and memory ability, as noted in the Morris water maze test, and the following PAS-Na treatment successfully restored these adverse effects to levels indistinguishable from controls. Unexpectedly, PAS-Na failed to recover the Mn-induced decrease in the overall GABA levels, although PAS-Na treatment reversed Mn-induced alterations in the enzyme activities directly responsible for the synthesis and degradation of GABA (glutamate decarboxylase and GABA-transaminase, respectively). Moreover, Mn exposure caused an increase of GABA transporter 1 (GAT-1) and decrease of GABA A receptor (GABAA) in transcriptional levels, which could be reverted by the highest dose of 300 mg/kg PAS-Na treatment. In conclusion, the GABA metabolism was interrupted by sub-chronic Mn exposure. However, the PAS-Na treatment mediated protection from sub-chronic Mn exposure-induced neurotoxicity, which may not be dependent on the GABA metabolism. PMID:28394286

Towards anatomic scale agent-based modeling with a massively parallel spatially explicit general-purpose model of enteric tissue (SEGMEnT_HPC).

PubMed

Cockrell, Robert Chase; Christley, Scott; Chang, Eugene; An, Gary

2015-01-01

Perhaps the greatest challenge currently facing the biomedical research community is the ability to integrate highly detailed cellular and molecular mechanisms to represent clinical disease states as a pathway to engineer effective therapeutics. This is particularly evident in the representation of organ-level pathophysiology in terms of abnormal tissue structure, which, through histology, remains a mainstay in disease diagnosis and staging. As such, being able to generate anatomic scale simulations is a highly desirable goal. While computational limitations have previously constrained the size and scope of multi-scale computational models, advances in the capacity and availability of high-performance computing (HPC) resources have greatly expanded the ability of computational models of biological systems to achieve anatomic, clinically relevant scale. Diseases of the intestinal tract are exemplary examples of pathophysiological processes that manifest at multiple scales of spatial resolution, with structural abnormalities present at the microscopic, macroscopic and organ-levels. In this paper, we describe a novel, massively parallel computational model of the gut, the Spatially Explicitly General-purpose Model of Enteric Tissue_HPC (SEGMEnT_HPC), which extends an existing model of the gut epithelium, SEGMEnT, in order to create cell-for-cell anatomic scale simulations. We present an example implementation of SEGMEnT_HPC that simulates the pathogenesis of ileal pouchitis, and important clinical entity that affects patients following remedial surgery for ulcerative colitis.

Repeated Sleep Restriction in Adolescent Rats Altered Sleep Patterns and Impaired Spatial Learning/Memory Ability

PubMed Central

Yang, Su-Rong; Sun, Hui; Huang, Zhi-Li; Yao, Ming-Hui; Qu, Wei-Min

2012-01-01

Study Objectives: To investigate possible differences in the effect of repeated sleep restriction (RSR) during adolescence and adulthood on sleep homeostasis and spatial learning and memory ability. Design: The authors examined electroencephalograms of rats as they were subjected to 4-h daily sleep deprivation that continued for 7 consecutive days and assessed the spatial learning and memory by Morris water maze test (WMT). Participants: Adolescent and adult rats. Measurements and Results: Adolescent rats exhibited a similar amount of rapid eye movement (REM) and nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep with higher slow wave activity (SWA, 0.5-4 Hz) and fewer episodes and conversions with prolonged durations, indicating they have better sleep quality than adult rats. After RSR, adult rats showed strong rebound of REM sleep by 31% on sleep deprivation day 1; this value was 37% on sleep deprivation day 7 in adolescents compared with 20-h baseline level. On sleep deprivation day 7, SWA in adult and adolescent rats increased by 47% and 33%, and such elevation lasted for 5 h and 7 h, respectively. Furthermore, the authors investigated the effects of 4-h daily sleep deprivation immediately after the water maze training sessions on spatial cognitive performance. Adolescent rats sleep-restricted for 7 days traveled a longer distance to find the hidden platform during the acquisition training and had fewer numbers of platform crossings in the probe trial than those in the control group, something that did not occur in the sleep-deprived adult rats. Conclusions: Repeated sleep restriction (RSR) altered sleep profiles and mildly impaired spatial learning and memory capability in adolescent rats. Citation: Yang SR; Sun H; Huang ZL; Yao MH; Qu WM. Repeated sleep restriction in adolescent rats altered sleep patterns and impaired spatial learning/memory ability. SLEEP 2012;35(6):849-859. PMID:22654204

Spatial Abilities during the Circalunar Cycle in Both Sexes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ostatnikova, Daniela; Hodosy, Julius; Skoknova, Martina; Putz, Zdenek; Kudela, Matus; Celec, Peter

2010-01-01

Spatial abilities vary during the menstrual cycle. The effects of a similar rhythm in men are unknown. Mental rotation and spatial visualization of young healthy volunteers (29 females and 31 males) were tested during the menstrual and periovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle in women, and during the low-testosterone and high-testosterone phases…

Spatial Cognition and Map Interpretation

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

Terrain association Spatial cognition Map reading Videogames aa mldm II naeaaaaiy and Hontlty by block numbor) Spatial memory span Orientation...ability. Finally, field and classroom performance was compared to wayfinding in a simulated ( videogame ) environment in which position coordinates were...a simulated ( videogame ) environment. Findings: MITAC instruction significantly improved the experimental group’s ability to perform terrain

Components of Spatial Thinking: Evidence from a Spatial Thinking Ability Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jongwon; Bednarz, Robert

2012-01-01

This article introduces the development and validation of the spatial thinking ability test (STAT). The STAT consists of sixteen multiple-choice questions of eight types. The STAT was validated by administering it to a sample of 532 junior high, high school, and university students. Factor analysis using principal components extraction was applied…

How Spatial Reasoning and Numerical Reasoning Are Related in Geometric Measurement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Battista, Michael T.; Winer, Michael L.; Frazee, Leah M.

2017-01-01

The positive correlation between spatial ability and mathematical ability has been well-documented, but not well-understood. Examining student work in spatial situations that require numerical operations provides us with insight into this elusive connection. Drawing on student work with angle, length, volume, and area, we examine the ways in which…

Engineers' Spatial Orientation Ability Development at the European Space for Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrera, C. Carbonell; Perez, J. L. Saorin; Cantero, J. de la Torre; Gonzalez, A. M. Marrero

2011-01-01

The aim of this research was to determine whether the new geographic information technologies, included as teaching objectives in the new European Space for Higher Education Engineering degrees, develop spatial abilities. Bearing this in mind, a first year seminar using the INSPIRE Geoportal (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) was…

Visuospatial Anatomy Comprehension: The Role of Spatial Visualization Ability and Problem-Solving Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Ngan; Mulla, Ali; Nelson, Andrew J.; Wilson, Timothy D.

2014-01-01

The present study explored the problem-solving strategies of high- and low-spatial visualization ability learners on a novel spatial anatomy task to determine whether differences in strategies contribute to differences in task performance. The results of this study provide further insights into the processing commonalities and differences among…

Spatial Thinking Ability Assessment in Rwandan Secondary Schools: Baseline Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomaszewski, Brian; Vodacek, Anthony; Parody, Robert; Holt, Nicholas

2015-01-01

This article discusses use and modification of Lee and Bednarz's (2012) Spatial Thinking Ability Test (STAT) as a spatial thinking assessment device in Rwandan secondary schools. After piloting and modifying the STAT, 222 students total from our rural and urban test schools and one control school were tested. Statistical analysis revealed that…

Women and Mathematics: Research vs. Achievement in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abel, Theodora Mead; And Others

Many educators and researchers who believe that girls have less mathematical ability than boys associate this deficiency with girls' inferior spatial ability. This generally accepted belief that spatial skills are a major prerequisite for math achievement was tested through a study of the visual-spatial skills of a sample of 32 professional…

Neuropsychological functioning in adolescents with anorexia nervosa before and after cognitive remediation therapy: a feasibility trial.

PubMed

Dahlgren, Camilla Lindvall; Lask, Bryan; Landrø, Nils Inge; Rø, Øyvind

2013-09-01

To investigate neuropsychological functioning in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) before and after receiving cognitive remediation therapy (CRT). Twenty young females with AN participated in an individually-delivered CRT treatment program. Neuropsychological and psychiatric assessments were administered before and after treatment. Weight, depression, anxiety, duration of illness, and level of eating disorder psychopathology were considered as covariates in statistical analyses. Significant changes in weight, depression, visio-spatial memory, perceptual disembedding abilities, and verbal fluency were observed. Changes in weight had a significant effect on improvements in visuo-spatial memory and verbal fluency. Results also revealed a significant effect of depressive symptoms on perceptual disembedding abilities. The results suggest improvements on a number of neuropsychological functions during the course of CRT. Future studies should explore the use of additional assessment instruments, and include control groups to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Distinguishing Individual DNA Bases in a Network by Non-Resonant Tip-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

PubMed

Zhang, Rui; Zhang, Xianbiao; Wang, Huifang; Zhang, Yao; Jiang, Song; Hu, Chunrui; Zhang, Yang; Luo, Yi; Dong, Zhenchao

2017-05-08

The importance of identifying DNA bases at the single-molecule level is well recognized for many biological applications. Although such identification can be achieved by electrical measurements using special setups, it is still not possible to identify single bases in real space by optical means owing to the diffraction limit. Herein, we demonstrate the outstanding ability of scanning tunneling microscope (STM)-controlled non-resonant tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) to unambiguously distinguish two individual complementary DNA bases (adenine and thymine) with a spatial resolution down to 0.9 nm. The distinct Raman fingerprints identified for the two molecules allow to differentiate in real space individual DNA bases in coupled base pairs. The demonstrated ability of non-resonant Raman scattering with super-high spatial resolution will significantly extend the applicability of TERS, opening up new routes for single-molecule DNA sequencing. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Live-cell thermometry with nitrogen vacancy centers in nanodiamonds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayakumar, Harishankar; Fedder, Helmut; Chen, Andrew; Yang, Liudi; Li, Chenghai; Wrachtrup, Joerg; Wang, Sihong; Meriles, Carlos

The ability to measure temperature is typically affected by a tradeoff between sensitivity and spatial resolution. Good thermometers tend to be bulky systems and hence are ill-suited for thermal sensing with high spatial localization. Conversely, the signal resulting from nanoscale temperature probes is often impacted by noise to a level where the measurement precision becomes poor. Adding to the microscopist toolbox, the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond has recently emerged as a promising platform for high-sensitivity nanoscale thermometry. Of particular interest are applications in living cells because diamond nanocrystals are biocompatible and can be chemically functionalized to target specific organelles. Here we report progress on the ability to probe and compare temperature within and between living cells using nanodiamond-hosted NV thermometry. We focus our study on cancerous cells, where atypical metabolic pathways arguably lead to changes in the way a cell generates heat, and thus on its temperature profile.

Planting the SEED: Towards a Spatial Economic Ecological Database for a shared understanding of the Dutch Wadden area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daams, Michiel N.; Sijtsma, Frans J.

2013-09-01

In this paper we address the characteristics of a publicly accessible Spatial Economic Ecological Database (SEED) and its ability to support a shared understanding among planners and experts of the economy and ecology of the Dutch Wadden area. Theoretical building blocks for a Wadden SEED are discussed. Our SEED contains a comprehensive set of stakeholder validated spatially explicit data on key economic and ecological indicators. These data extend over various spatial scales. Spatial issues relevant to the specification of a Wadden-SEED and its data needs are explored in this paper and illustrated using empirical data for the Dutch Wadden area. The purpose of the SEED is to integrate basic economic and ecologic information in order to support the resolution of specific (policy) questions and to facilitate connections between project level and strategic level in the spatial planning process. Although modest in its ambitions, we will argue that a Wadden SEED can serve as a valuable element in the much debated science-policy interface. A Wadden SEED is valuable since it is a consensus-based common knowledge base on the economy and ecology of an area rife with ecological-economic conflict, including conflict in which scientific information is often challenged and disputed.

Visuospatial training improves elementary students' mathematics performance.

PubMed

Lowrie, Tom; Logan, Tracy; Ramful, Ajay

2017-06-01

Although spatial ability and mathematics performance are highly correlated, there is scant research on the extent to which spatial ability training can improve mathematics performance. This study evaluated the efficacy of a visuospatial intervention programme within classrooms to determine the effect on students' (1) spatial reasoning and (2) mathematics performance as a result of the intervention. The study involved grade six students (ages 10-12) in eight classes. There were five intervention classes (n = 120) and three non-intervention control classes (n = 66). A specifically designed 10-week spatial reasoning programme was developed collaboratively with the participating teachers, with the intervention replacing the standard mathematics curriculum. The five classroom teachers in the intervention programme presented 20 hr of activities aimed at enhancing students' spatial visualization, mental rotation, and spatial orientation skills. The spatial reasoning programme led to improvements in both spatial ability and mathematics performance relative to the control group who received standard mathematics instruction. Our study is the first to show that a classroom-based spatial reasoning intervention improves elementary school students' mathematics performance. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Alzheimer Disease Biomarkers and Driving in Clinically Normal Older Adults: Role of Spatial Navigation Abilities.

PubMed

Allison, Samantha; Babulal, Ganesh M; Stout, Sarah H; Barco, Peggy P; Carr, David B; Fagan, Anne M; Morris, John C; Roe, Catherine M; Head, Denise

2018-01-01

Older adults experience impaired driving performance, and modify their driving habits, including limiting amount and spatial extent of travel. Alzheimer disease (AD)-related pathology, as well as spatial navigation difficulties, may influence driving performance and driving behaviors in clinically normal older adults. We examined whether AD biomarkers [cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of Aβ42, tau, and ptau181] were associated with lower self-reported spatial navigation abilities, and whether navigation abilities mediated the relationship of AD biomarkers with driving performance and extent. Clinically normal older adults (n=112; aged 65+) completed an on-road driving test, the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction scale (self-report measure of spatial navigation ability), and the Driving Habits Questionnaire for an estimate of driving extent (composite of driving exposure and driving space). All participants had a lumbar puncture to obtain CSF. CSF Aβ42, but not tau or ptau181, was associated with self-reported navigation ability. Lower self-reported navigation was associated with reduced driving extent, but not driving errors. Self-reported navigation mediated the relationship between CSF Aβ42 and driving extent. Findings suggest that cerebral amyloid deposition is associated with lower perceived ability to navigate the environment, which may lead older adults with AD pathology to limit their driving extent.

Rotation is visualisation, 3D is 2D: using a novel measure to investigate the genetics of spatial ability

PubMed Central

Shakeshaft, Nicholas G.; Rimfeld, Kaili; Schofield, Kerry L.; Selzam, Saskia; Malanchini, Margherita; Rodic, Maja; Kovas, Yulia; Plomin, Robert

2016-01-01

Spatial abilities–defined broadly as the capacity to manipulate mental representations of objects and the relations between them–have been studied widely, but with little agreement reached concerning their nature or structure. Two major putative spatial abilities are “mental rotation” (rotating mental models) and “visualisation” (complex manipulations, such as identifying objects from incomplete information), but inconsistent findings have been presented regarding their relationship to one another. Similarly inconsistent findings have been reported for the relationship between two- and three-dimensional stimuli. Behavioural genetic methods offer a largely untapped means to investigate such relationships. 1,265 twin pairs from the Twins Early Development Study completed the novel “Bricks” test battery, designed to tap these abilities in isolation. The results suggest substantial genetic influence unique to spatial ability as a whole, but indicate that dissociations between the more specific constructs (rotation and visualisation, in 2D and 3D) disappear when tested under identical conditions: they are highly correlated phenotypically, perfectly correlated genetically (indicating that the same genetic influences underpin performance), and are related similarly to other abilities. This has important implications for the structure of spatial ability, suggesting that the proliferation of apparent sub-domains may sometimes reflect idiosyncratic tasks rather than meaningful dissociations. PMID:27476554

Chronic acarbose treatment alleviates age-related behavioral and biochemical changes in SAMP8 mice.

PubMed

Tong, Jing-Jing; Chen, Gui-Hai; Wang, Fang; Li, Xue-Wei; Cao, Lei; Sui, Xu; Tao, Fei; Yan, Wen-Wen; Wei, Zhao-Jun

2015-05-01

The administration of maintaining the homeostasis of insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling and/or glucose metabolism may reverse brain aging. In the present study, we investigated the effect of acarbose, an inhibitor of α-glucosidase, on age-related behavioral and biochemical changes. The SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into old control group and acarbose-treatment group. The mice in the acarbose group were administered acarbose (20 mg/kg/d, dissolved in drinking water) orally from 3 to 9 months of age when a new group of 3-month-old mice was added as young controls. The results showed that the aged controls exhibited declines in sensorimotor ability, open field anxiety, spatial and non-spatial memory abilities, decreased serum insulin levels, increased IGF-1 receptor and synaptotagmin 1 (Syt1) levels and decreased insulin receptor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and syntaxin 1 (Stx1) levels in the hippocampal layers. The age-related behavioral deficits correlated with the serological and histochemical data. Chronic acarbose treatment relieved these age-related changes, especially with respect to learning and memory abilities. This protective effect of acarbose on age-related behavioral impairments might be related to changes in the insulin system and the levels of BDNF, IGF-1R, and the pre-synaptic proteins Syt1 and Stx1. In conclusion, long-term treatment with acarbose ameliorated the behavioral deficits and biochemical changes in old SAMP8 mice and promoted successful aging. This study provides insight into the potential of acarbose for the treatment of brain aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Who Benefits from Learning with 3D Models?: The Case of Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huk, T.

2006-01-01

Empirical studies that focus on the impact of three-dimensional (3D) visualizations on learning are to date rare and inconsistent. According to the ability-as-enhancer hypothesis, high spatial ability learners should benefit particularly as they have enough cognitive capacity left for mental model construction. In contrast, the…

The Role of Cognitive Abilities in Laparoscopic Simulator Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groenier, M.; Schraagen, J. M. C.; Miedema, H. A. T.; Broeders, I. A. J. M.

2014-01-01

Learning minimally invasive surgery (MIS) differs substantially from learning open surgery and trainees differ in their ability to learn MIS. Previous studies mainly focused on the role of visuo-spatial ability (VSA) on the learning curve for MIS. In the current study, the relationship between spatial memory, perceptual speed, and general…

MWIR imaging spectrometer with digital time delay integration for remote sensing and characterization of solar system objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendrick, Stephen E.; Harwit, Alex; Kaplan, Michael; Smythe, William D.

2007-09-01

An MWIR TDI (Time Delay and Integration) Imager and Spectrometer (MTIS) instrument for characterizing from orbit the moons of Jupiter and Saturn is proposed. Novel to this instrument is the planned implementation of a digital TDI detector array and an innovative imaging/spectroscopic architecture. Digital TDI enables a higher SNR for high spatial resolution surface mapping of Titan and Enceladus and for improved spectral discrimination and resolution at Europa. The MTIS imaging/spectroscopic architecture combines a high spatial resolution coarse wavelength resolution imaging spectrometer with a hyperspectral sensor to spectrally decompose a portion of the data adjacent to the data sampled in the imaging spectrometer. The MTIS instrument thus maps with high spatial resolution a planetary object while spectrally decomposing enough of the data that identification of the constituent materials is highly likely. Additionally, digital TDI systems have the ability to enable the rejection of radiation induced spikes in high radiation environments (Europa) and the ability to image in low light levels (Titan and Enceladus). The ability to image moving objects that might be missed utilizing a conventional TDI system is an added advantage and is particularly important for characterizing atmospheric effects and separating atmospheric and surface components. This can be accomplished with on-orbit processing or collecting and returning individual non co-added frames.

Slime mold uses an externalized spatial “memory” to navigate in complex environments

PubMed Central

Reid, Chris R.; Latty, Tanya; Dussutour, Audrey; Beekman, Madeleine

2012-01-01

Spatial memory enhances an organism’s navigational ability. Memory typically resides within the brain, but what if an organism has no brain? We show that the brainless slime mold Physarum polycephalum constructs a form of spatial memory by avoiding areas it has previously explored. This mechanism allows the slime mold to solve the U-shaped trap problem—a classic test of autonomous navigational ability commonly used in robotics—requiring the slime mold to reach a chemoattractive goal behind a U-shaped barrier. Drawn into the trap, the organism must rely on other methods than gradient-following to escape and reach the goal. Our data show that spatial memory enhances the organism’s ability to navigate in complex environments. We provide a unique demonstration of a spatial memory system in a nonneuronal organism, supporting the theory that an externalized spatial memory may be the functional precursor to the internal memory of higher organisms. PMID:23045640

Slime mold uses an externalized spatial "memory" to navigate in complex environments.

PubMed

Reid, Chris R; Latty, Tanya; Dussutour, Audrey; Beekman, Madeleine

2012-10-23

Spatial memory enhances an organism's navigational ability. Memory typically resides within the brain, but what if an organism has no brain? We show that the brainless slime mold Physarum polycephalum constructs a form of spatial memory by avoiding areas it has previously explored. This mechanism allows the slime mold to solve the U-shaped trap problem--a classic test of autonomous navigational ability commonly used in robotics--requiring the slime mold to reach a chemoattractive goal behind a U-shaped barrier. Drawn into the trap, the organism must rely on other methods than gradient-following to escape and reach the goal. Our data show that spatial memory enhances the organism's ability to navigate in complex environments. We provide a unique demonstration of a spatial memory system in a nonneuronal organism, supporting the theory that an externalized spatial memory may be the functional precursor to the internal memory of higher organisms.

Spatial working memory deficits in children at ages 3-4 who were low birth weight, preterm infants.

PubMed

Vicari, Stefano; Caravale, Barbara; Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto; Casadei, Anna Maria; Allemand, Federico

2004-10-01

The aim of this study was to investigate attention and perceptual and spatial working memory abilities in preterm, low birth weight preschool children without evident brain disorders as determined by normal cerebral ultrasound findings and normal motor development. The authors evaluated 19 preterm and 19 typically developing children who were matched for IQ and chronological age. Results indicated that children born prematurely without major neurological deficits and with a normal cognitive level may have specific difficulty in sustained attention, visuospatial processing, and spatial working memory when evaluated at ages 3-4. This finding is relevant for understanding the qualitative aspects of cognitive development in preterm children and the neurobiological substrate underlying this development.

Time Limits in Testing: An Analysis of Eye Movements and Visual Attention in Spatial Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roach, Victoria A.; Fraser, Graham M.; Kryklywy, James H.; Mitchell, Derek G. V.; Wilson, Timothy D.

2017-01-01

Individuals with an aptitude for interpreting spatial information (high mental rotation ability: HMRA) typically master anatomy with more ease, and more quickly, than those with low mental rotation ability (LMRA). This article explores how visual attention differs with time limits on spatial reasoning tests. Participants were assorted to two…

A Lateralization of Function Approach to Sex Differences in Spatial Ability: A Reexamination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rilea, Stacy L.

2008-01-01

The current study assessed the lateralization of function hypothesis (Rilea, S. L., Roskos-Ewoldsen, B., & Boles, D. (2004). "Sex differences in spatial ability: A lateralization of function approach." "Brain and Cognition," 56, 332-343) which suggested that it was the interaction of brain organization and the type of spatial task that led to sex…

Spatial Reasoning: Improvement of Imagery and Abilities in Sophomore Organic Chemistry. Perspective to Enhance Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hornbuckle, Susan F.; Gobin, Latanya; Thurman, Stephanie N.

2014-01-01

Spatial reasoning has become a demanded skill for students pursuing a science emphasis to compete with the dynamic growth of our professional society. The ability to reason spatially includes explorations in memory recollection and problem solving capabilities as well as critical thinking and reasoning skills. With these advancements, educational…

The Effect of Dynamic Geometry Software on Student Mathematics Teachers' Spatial Visualization Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Güven, Bülent; Kosa, Temel

2008-01-01

Geometry is the study of shape and space. Without spatial ability, students cannot fully appreciate the natural world. Spatial ability is also very important for work in various fields such as computer graphics, engineering, architecture, and cartography. A number of studies have demonstrated that technology has an important potential to develop…

Advanced techniques for the storage and use of very large, heterogeneous spatial databases. The representation of geographic knowledge: Toward a universal framework. [relations (mathematics)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peuquet, Donna J.

1987-01-01

A new approach to building geographic data models that is based on the fundamental characteristics of the data is presented. An overall theoretical framework for representing geographic data is proposed. An example of utilizing this framework in a Geographic Information System (GIS) context by combining artificial intelligence techniques with recent developments in spatial data processing techniques is given. Elements of data representation discussed include hierarchical structure, separation of locational and conceptual views, and the ability to store knowledge at variable levels of completeness and precision.

Processing of spatial and non-spatial information in rats with lesions of the medial and lateral entorhinal cortex: Environmental complexity matters.

PubMed

Rodo, Christophe; Sargolini, Francesca; Save, Etienne

2017-03-01

The entorhinal-hippocampal circuitry has been suggested to play an important role in episodic memory but the contribution of the entorhinal cortex remains elusive. Predominant theories propose that the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) processes spatial information whereas the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) processes non spatial information. A recent study using an object exploration task has suggested that the involvement of the MEC and LEC spatial and non-spatial information processing could be modulated by the amount of information to be processed, i.e. environmental complexity. To address this hypothesis we used an object exploration task in which rats with excitotoxic lesions of the MEC and LEC had to detect spatial and non-spatial novelty among a set of objects and we varied environmental complexity by decreasing the number of objects or amount of object diversity. Reducing diversity resulted in restored ability to process spatial and non-spatial information in MEC and LEC groups, respectively. Reducing the number of objects yielded restored ability to process non-spatial information in the LEC group but not the ability to process spatial information in the MEC group. The findings indicate that the MEC and LEC are not strictly necessary for spatial and non-spatial processing but that their involvement depends on the complexity of the information to be processed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coding Strategies and Implementations of Compressive Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Tsung-Han

This dissertation studies the coding strategies of computational imaging to overcome the limitation of conventional sensing techniques. The information capacity of conventional sensing is limited by the physical properties of optics, such as aperture size, detector pixels, quantum efficiency, and sampling rate. These parameters determine the spatial, depth, spectral, temporal, and polarization sensitivity of each imager. To increase sensitivity in any dimension can significantly compromise the others. This research implements various coding strategies subject to optical multidimensional imaging and acoustic sensing in order to extend their sensing abilities. The proposed coding strategies combine hardware modification and signal processing to exploiting bandwidth and sensitivity from conventional sensors. We discuss the hardware architecture, compression strategies, sensing process modeling, and reconstruction algorithm of each sensing system. Optical multidimensional imaging measures three or more dimensional information of the optical signal. Traditional multidimensional imagers acquire extra dimensional information at the cost of degrading temporal or spatial resolution. Compressive multidimensional imaging multiplexes the transverse spatial, spectral, temporal, and polarization information on a two-dimensional (2D) detector. The corresponding spectral, temporal and polarization coding strategies adapt optics, electronic devices, and designed modulation techniques for multiplex measurement. This computational imaging technique provides multispectral, temporal super-resolution, and polarization imaging abilities with minimal loss in spatial resolution and noise level while maintaining or gaining higher temporal resolution. The experimental results prove that the appropriate coding strategies may improve hundreds times more sensing capacity. Human auditory system has the astonishing ability in localizing, tracking, and filtering the selected sound sources or information from a noisy environment. Using engineering efforts to accomplish the same task usually requires multiple detectors, advanced computational algorithms, or artificial intelligence systems. Compressive acoustic sensing incorporates acoustic metamaterials in compressive sensing theory to emulate the abilities of sound localization and selective attention. This research investigates and optimizes the sensing capacity and the spatial sensitivity of the acoustic sensor. The well-modeled acoustic sensor allows localizing multiple speakers in both stationary and dynamic auditory scene; and distinguishing mixed conversations from independent sources with high audio recognition rate.

Thrombin-induced microglial activation impairs hippocampal neurogenesis and spatial memory ability in mice.

PubMed

Yang, Yuan; Zhang, Meikui; Kang, Xiaoni; Jiang, Chen; Zhang, Huan; Wang, Pei; Li, Jingjing

2015-09-26

To investigate the effects of microglia/macrophages activation induced by intrastriatal thrombin injection on dentate gyrus neurogenesis and spatial memory ability in mice. The male C57BL/6 mice were divided into 4 groups of 10: sham, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), ICH + hirudin (thrombin inhibitor), and ICH + indometacin (Indo, an anti-inflammation drug). ICH model was created by intrastriatal thrombin (1U) injection. BrdU (50 mg/kg) was administrated on the same day after surgery for 6 consecutive days. Motor functions were evaluated with rotarod and beam walking tests. The spatial memory deficit was measured with Morris water maze (MWM). Cell quantification was performed for doublecortin (DCX, immature neuron), BrdU (S-phase proliferating cell population) and CD68 (activated microglia/macrophage) immune-reactive cells. Microglia/macrophages activation induced by intrastriatal thrombin injection reduced hippocampal neurogenesis and impaired spatial memory ability, but did not affect the motor function at 3 and 5 days post-injury. Both hirudin and indometacin reduced microglia/macrophages activation, enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis, and improved spatial memory ability in mice. Microglia/macrophages activation induced by intrastriatal thrombin injection might be responsible for the spatial memory deficit. Targeting both thrombin and inflammation systems in acute phase of ICH might be important in alleviating the significant spatial memory deficits.

Administering Spatial and Cognitive Instruments In-class and On-line: Are These Equivalent?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williamson, Kenneth C.; Williamson, Vickie M.; Hinze, Scott R.

2017-02-01

Standardized, well-established paper-and-pencil tests, which measure spatial abilities or which measure reasoning abilities, have long been found to be predictive of success in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Instructors can use these tests for prediction of success and to inform instruction. A comparative administration of spatial visualization and cognitive reasoning tests, between in-class (proctored paper and pencil) and on-line (unproctored Internet) ( N = 457), was used to investigate and to determine whether the differing instrument formats yielded equal measures of spatial ability and reasoning ability in large first-semester general chemistry sections. Although some gender differences were found, findings suggest that some differences across administration formats, but that on-line administration had similar properties of predicting chemistry performance as the in-class version. Therefore, on-line administration is a viable option for instructors to consider especially when dealing with large classes.

Increased fusiform area activation in schizophrenia during processing of spatial frequency-degraded faces, as revealed by fMRI.

PubMed

Silverstein, S M; All, S D; Kasi, R; Berten, S; Essex, B; Lathrop, K L; Little, D M

2010-07-01

People with schizophrenia demonstrate perceptual organization impairments, and these are thought to contribute to their face processing difficulties. We examined the neural substrates of emotionally neutral face processing in schizophrenia by investigating neural activity under three stimulus conditions: faces characterized by the full spectrum of spatial frequencies, faces with low spatial frequency information removed [high spatial frequency (HSF) condition], and faces with high spatial frequency information removed [low spatial frequency (LSF) condition]. Face perception in the HSF condition is more reliant on local feature processing whereas perception in the LSF condition requires greater reliance on global form processing. Past studies of perceptual organization in schizophrenia indicate that patients perform relatively more poorly with degraded stimuli but also that, when global information is absent, patients may perform better than controls because of their relatively increased ability to initially process individual features. Therefore, we hypothesized that people with schizophrenia (n=14) would demonstrate greater face processing difficulties than controls (n=13) in the LSF condition, whereas they would demonstrate a smaller difference or superior performance in the HSF condition. In a gender-discrimination task, behavioral data indicated high levels of accuracy for both groups, with a trend toward an interaction involving higher patient performance in the HSF condition and poorer patient performance in the LSF condition. Patients demonstrated greater activity in the fusiform gyrus compared to controls in both degraded conditions. These data suggest that impairments in basic integration abilities may be compensated for by relatively increased activity in this region.

The Effects of 3-Dimensional CADD Modeling on the Development of the Spatial Ability of Technology Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basham, K. Lynn; Kotrlik, Joe W.

2008-01-01

Spatial abilities are fundamental to human functioning in the physical world. Spatial reasoning allows people to use concepts of shape, features, and relationships in both concrete and abstract ways, to make and use things in the world, to navigate, and to communicate. Surgeons, pilots, architects, engineers, mechanics, builders, farmers, trades…

Exploring the Relationship Between Students' Visual Spatial Abilities and Comprehension in STEM Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cid, Ximena; Lopez, Ramon

2011-10-01

It is well known that student have difficulties with concepts in physics and space science as well as other STEM fields. Some of these difficulties may be rooted in student conceptual errors, whereas other difficulties may arise from issues with visual cognition and spatial intelligence. It has also been suggested that some aspects of high attrition rates from STEM fields can be attributed to students' visual spatial abilities. We will be presenting data collected from introductory courses in the College of Engineering, Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry, and the Department of Mathematics at the University of Texas at Arlington. These data examine the relationship between students' visual spatial abilities and comprehension in the subject matter. Where correlations are found to exist, visual spatial interventions can be implemented to reduce the attrition rates.

Verbal short-term memory and vocabulary learning in polyglots.

PubMed

Papagno, C; Vallar, G

1995-02-01

Polyglot and non-polyglot Italian subjects were given tests assessing verbal (phonological) and visuo-spatial short-term and long-term memory, general intelligence, and vocabulary knowledge in their native language. Polyglots had a superior level of performance in verbal short-term memory tasks (auditory digit span and nonword repetition) and in a paired-associate learning test, which assessed the subjects' ability to acquire new (Russian) words. By contrast, the two groups had comparable performance levels in tasks assessing general intelligence, visuo-spatial short-term memory and learning, and paired-associate learning of Italian words. These findings, which are in line with neuropsychological and developmental evidence, as well as with data from normal subjects, suggest a close relationship between the capacity of phonological memory and the acquisition of foreign languages.

A Matter of Balance: Motor Control is Related to Children’s Spatial and Proportional Reasoning Skills

PubMed Central

Frick, Andrea; Möhring, Wenke

2016-01-01

Recent research has shown close links between spatial and mathematical thinking and between spatial abilities and motor skills. However, longitudinal research examining the relations between motor, spatial, and mathematical skills is rare, and the nature of these relations remains unclear. The present study thus investigated the relation between children’s motor control and their spatial and proportional reasoning. We measured 6-year-olds’ spatial scaling (i.e., the ability to reason about different-sized spaces), their mental transformation skills, and their ability to balance on one leg as an index for motor control. One year later (N = 126), we tested the same children’s understanding of proportions. We also assessed several control variables (verbal IQ and socio-economic status) as well as inhibitory control, visuo-spatial and verbal working memory. Stepwise hierarchical regressions showed that, after accounting for effects of control variables, children’s balance skills significantly increased the explained variance in their spatial performance and proportional reasoning. Our results suggest specific relations between balance skills and spatial as well as proportional reasoning skills that cannot be explained by general differences in executive functioning or intelligence. PMID:26793157

Uncovering neurodevelopmental windows of susceptibility to manganese exposure using dentine microspatial analyses.

PubMed

Claus Henn, Birgit; Austin, Christine; Coull, Brent A; Schnaas, Lourdes; Gennings, Chris; Horton, Megan K; Hernández-Ávila, Mauricio; Hu, Howard; Téllez-Rojo, Martha Maria; Wright, Robert O; Arora, Manish

2018-02-01

Associations between manganese (Mn) and neurodevelopment may depend on dose and exposure timing, but most studies cannot measure exposure variability over time well. We apply temporally informative tooth-matrix biomarkers to uncover windows of susceptibility in early life when Mn is associated with visual motor ability in childhood. We also explore effect modification by lead (Pb) and child sex. Participants were drawn from the ELEMENT (Early Life Exposures in MExico and NeuroToxicology) longitudinal birth cohort studies. We reconstructed dose and timing of prenatal and early postnatal Mn and Pb exposures for 138 children by analyzing deciduous teeth using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Neurodevelopment was assessed between 6 and 16 years of age using the Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Abilities (WRAVMA). Mn associations with total WRAVMA scores and subscales were estimated with multivariable generalized additive mixed models. We examined Mn interactions with Pb and child sex in stratified models. Levels of dentine Mn were highest in the second trimester and declined steeply over the prenatal period, with a slower rate of decline after birth. Mn was positively associated with visual spatial and total WRAVMA scores in the second trimester, among children with lower (< median) tooth Pb levels: one standard deviation (SD) increase in ln-transformed dentine Mn at 150 days before birth was associated with a 0.15 [95% CI: 0.04, 0.26] SD increase in total score. This positive association was not observed at high Pb levels. In contrast to the prenatal period, significant negative associations were found in the postnatal period from ~ 6 to 12 months of age, among boys only: one SD increase in ln-transformed dentine Mn was associated with a 0.11 [95% CI: - 0.001, - 0.22] to 0.16 [95% CI: - 0.04, - 0.28] SD decrease in visual spatial score. Using tooth-matrix biomarkers with fine scale temporal profiles of exposure, we found discrete developmental windows in which Mn was associated with visual-spatial abilities. Our results suggest that Mn associations are driven in large part by exposure timing, with beneficial effects found for prenatal levels and toxic effects found for postnatal levels. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interpreting the g loadings of intelligence test composite scores in light of Spearman's law of diminishing returns.

PubMed

Reynolds, Matthew R

2013-03-01

The linear loadings of intelligence test composite scores on a general factor (g) have been investigated recently in factor analytic studies. Spearman's law of diminishing returns (SLODR), however, implies that the g loadings of test scores likely decrease in magnitude as g increases, or they are nonlinear. The purpose of this study was to (a) investigate whether the g loadings of composite scores from the Differential Ability Scales (2nd ed.) (DAS-II, C. D. Elliott, 2007a, Differential Ability Scales (2nd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Pearson) were nonlinear and (b) if they were nonlinear, to compare them with linear g loadings to demonstrate how SLODR alters the interpretation of these loadings. Linear and nonlinear confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models were used to model Nonverbal Reasoning, Verbal Ability, Visual Spatial Ability, Working Memory, and Processing Speed composite scores in four age groups (5-6, 7-8, 9-13, and 14-17) from the DAS-II norming sample. The nonlinear CFA models provided better fit to the data than did the linear models. In support of SLODR, estimates obtained from the nonlinear CFAs indicated that g loadings decreased as g level increased. The nonlinear portion for the nonverbal reasoning loading, however, was not statistically significant across the age groups. Knowledge of general ability level informs composite score interpretation because g is less likely to produce differences, or is measured less, in those scores at higher g levels. One implication is that it may be more important to examine the pattern of specific abilities at higher general ability levels. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Visualizing petroleum systems with a combination of GIS and multimedia technologies: An example from the West Siberia Basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walsh, D.B.; Grace, J.D.

1996-12-31

Petroleum system studies provide an ideal application for the combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) and multimedia technologies. GIS technology is used to build and maintain the spatial and tabular data within the study region. Spatial data may comprise the zones of active source rocks and potential reservoir facies. Similarly, tabular data include the attendant source rock parameters (e.g. pyroloysis results, organic carbon content) and field-level exploration and production histories for the basin. Once the spatial and tabular data base has been constructed, GIS technology is useful in finding favorable exploration trends, such as zones of high organic content, maturemore » source rocks in positions adjacent to sealed, high porosity reservoir facies. Multimedia technology provides powerful visualization tools for petroleum system studies. The components of petroleum system development, most importantly generation, migration and trap development typically span periods of tens to hundreds of millions of years. The ability to animate spatial data over time provides an insightful alternative for studying the development of processes which are only captured in {open_quotes}snapshots{close_quotes} by static maps. New multimedia-authoring software provides this temporal dimension. The ability to record this data on CD-ROMs and allow user- interactivity further leverages the combination of spatial data bases, tabular data bases and time-based animations. The example used for this study was the Bazhenov-Neocomian petroleum system of West Siberia.« less

Visualizing petroleum systems with a combination of GIS and multimedia technologies: An example from the West Siberia Basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walsh, D.B.; Grace, J.D.

1996-01-01

Petroleum system studies provide an ideal application for the combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) and multimedia technologies. GIS technology is used to build and maintain the spatial and tabular data within the study region. Spatial data may comprise the zones of active source rocks and potential reservoir facies. Similarly, tabular data include the attendant source rock parameters (e.g. pyroloysis results, organic carbon content) and field-level exploration and production histories for the basin. Once the spatial and tabular data base has been constructed, GIS technology is useful in finding favorable exploration trends, such as zones of high organic content, maturemore » source rocks in positions adjacent to sealed, high porosity reservoir facies. Multimedia technology provides powerful visualization tools for petroleum system studies. The components of petroleum system development, most importantly generation, migration and trap development typically span periods of tens to hundreds of millions of years. The ability to animate spatial data over time provides an insightful alternative for studying the development of processes which are only captured in [open quotes]snapshots[close quotes] by static maps. New multimedia-authoring software provides this temporal dimension. The ability to record this data on CD-ROMs and allow user- interactivity further leverages the combination of spatial data bases, tabular data bases and time-based animations. The example used for this study was the Bazhenov-Neocomian petroleum system of West Siberia.« less

Influence of foraging behavior and host spatial distribution on the localized spread of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis

Treesearch

Rodrigo J. Mercader; Nathan W. Siegert; Andrew M. Liebhold; Deborah G. McCullough

2011-01-01

Management programs for invasive species are often developed at a regional or national level, but physical intervention generally takes place over relatively small areas occupied by newly founded, isolated populations. The ability to predict how local habitat variation affects the expansion of such newly founded populations is essential for efficiently targeting...

Cognitive and Affective Variables and Their Relationships to Performance in a Lotus 1-2-3 Class.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guster, Dennis; Batt, Richard

1989-01-01

Describes study of two-year college students that was conducted to determine whether variables that were predictors of success in a programing class were also predictors of success in a package-oriented computer class using Lotus 1-2-3. Diagraming skill, critical thinking ability, spatial discrimination, and test anxiety level were examined. (11…

Resolving ability and image discretization in the visual system.

PubMed

Shelepin, Yu E; Bondarko, V M

2004-02-01

Psychophysiological studies were performed to measure the spatial threshold for resolution of two "points" and the thresholds for discriminating their orientations depending on the distance between the two points. Data were compared with the scattering of the "point" by the eye's optics, the packing density of cones in the fovea, and the characteristics of the receptive fields of ganglion cells in the foveal area of the retina and neurons in the corresponding projection zones of the primary visual cortex. The effective zone was shown to have to contain a scattering function for several receptors, as this allowed preliminary blurring of the image by the eye's optics to decrease the subsequent (at the level of receptors) discretization noise created by a matrix of receptors. The concordance of these parameters supports the optical operation of the spatial elements of the neural network determining the resolving ability of the visual system at different levels of visual information processing. It is suggested that the special geometry of the receptive fields of neurons in the striate cortex, which are concordant with the statistics of natural scenes, results in a further increase in the signal:noise ratio.

A Comparative Analysis of Holographic, 3D-Printed, and Computer-Generated Models: Implications for Engineering Technology Students' Spatial Visualization Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros J.; Jones, Mildred V.

2018-01-01

A number of studies indicate that the use of holographic displays can influence spatial visualization ability; however, research provides inconsistent results. Considering this, a quasi-experimental study was conducted to identify the existence of statistically significant effects on sectional view drawing ability due to the impacts of holographic…

Does Spatial Ability Help the Learning of Anatomy in a Biomedical Science Course?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sweeney, Kevin; Hayes, Jennifer A.; Chiavaroli, Neville

2014-01-01

A three-dimensional appreciation of the human body is the cornerstone of clinical anatomy. Spatial ability has previously been found to be associated with students' ability to learn anatomy and their examination performance. The teaching of anatomy has been the subject of major change over the last two decades with the reduction in time spent…

Use of Dynamic Visualizations for Engineering Technology, Industrial Technology, and Science Education Students: Implications on Ability to Correctly Create a Sectional View Sketch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros; Dickerson, Daniel; Jovanovic, Vukica; Jones, Mildred V.

2016-01-01

Spatial abilities, specifically visualization, play a significant role in the achievement in a wide array of professions including, but not limited to, engineering, technical, mathematical, and scientific professions. However, there is little correlation between the advantages of spatial ability as measured through the creation of a sectional-view…

The Learning Benefits of Using Eye Trackers to Enhance the Geospatial Abilities of Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Hsiao-shen; Chen, Yi-Ting; Lin, Chih-Hung

2014-01-01

In this study, we examined the spatial abilities of students using eye-movement tracking devices to identify and analyze their characteristics. For this research, 12 students aged 11-12 years participated as novices and 4 mathematics students participated as experts. A comparison of the visual-spatial abilities of each group showed key factors of…

Real-time and quantitative isotropic spatial resolution susceptibility imaging for magnetic nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pi, Shiqiang; Liu, Wenzhong; Jiang, Tao

2018-03-01

The magnetic transparency of biological tissue allows the magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) to be a promising functional sensor and contrast agent. The complex susceptibility of MNPs, strongly influenced by particle concentration, excitation magnetic field and their surrounding microenvironment, provides significant implications for biomedical applications. Therefore, magnetic susceptibility imaging of high spatial resolution will give more detailed information during the process of MNP-aided diagnosis and therapy. In this study, we present a novel spatial magnetic susceptibility extraction method for MNPs under a gradient magnetic field, a low-frequency drive magnetic field, and a weak strength high-frequency magnetic field. Based on this novel method, a magnetic particle susceptibility imaging (MPSI) of millimeter-level spatial resolution (<3 mm) was achieved using our homemade imaging system. Corroborated by the experimental results, the MPSI shows real-time (1 s per frame acquisition) and quantitative abilities, and isotropic high resolution.

Accounting for Forest Harvest and Wildfire in a Spatially-distributed Carbon Cycle Process Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, D. P.; Ritts, W.; Kennedy, R. E.; Yang, Z.; Law, B. E.

2009-12-01

Forests are subject to natural disturbances in the form of wildfire, as well as management-related disturbances in the form of timber harvest. These disturbance events have strong impacts on local and regional carbon budgets, but quantifying the associated carbon fluxes remains challenging. The ORCA Project aims to quantify regional net ecosystem production (NEP) and net biome production (NBP) in Oregon, California, and Washington, and we have adopted an integrated approach based on Landsat imagery and ecosystem modeling. To account for stand-level carbon fluxes, the Biome-BGC model has been adapted to simulate multiple severities of fire and harvest. New variables include snags, direct fire emissions, and harvest removals. New parameters include fire-intensity-specific combustion factors for each carbon pool (based on field measurements) and proportional removal rates for harvest events. To quantify regional fluxes, the model is applied in a spatially-distributed mode over the domain of interest, with disturbance history derived from a time series of Landsat images. In stand-level simulations, the post disturbance transition from negative (source) to positive (sink) NEP is delayed approximately a decade in the case of high severity fire compared to harvest. Simulated direct pyrogenic emissions range from 11 to 25 % of total non-soil ecosystem carbon. In spatial mode application over Oregon and California, the sum of annual pyrogenic emissions and harvest removals was generally less that half of total NEP, resulting in significant carbon sequestration on the land base. Spatially and temporally explicit simulation of disturbance-related carbon fluxes will contribute to our ability to evaluate effects of management on regional carbon flux, and in our ability to assess potential biospheric feedbacks to climate change mediated by changing disturbance regimes.

Spatial abilities across the adult life span.

PubMed

Borella, Erika; Meneghetti, Chiara; Ronconi, Lucia; De Beni, Rossana

2014-02-01

The study investigates age-related effects across the adult life span on spatial abilities (testing subabilities based on a distinction between spatial visualization, mental rotation, and perspective taking) and spatial self-assessments. The sample consisted of 454 participants (223 women and 231 men) from 20 to 91 years of age. Results showed nonlinear age-related effects for spatial visualization and perspective taking but linear effects for mental rotation; few or no age-related effects were found for spatial self-assessments. Working memory accounted for only a small proportion of the variance in all spatial tasks and had no effect on spatial self-assessments. Overall, our findings suggest that the influence of age on spatial skills across the adult life span is considerable, but the effects of age change as a function of the spatial task considered, and the effect on spatial self-assessment is more marginal.

Innovative testing of spatial ability: interactive responding and the use of complex stimuli material.

PubMed

Jelínek, Martin; Květon, Petr; Vobořil, Dalibor

2015-02-01

Despite initial expectations, which have emerged with the advancement of computer technology over the last decade of the twentieth century, scientific literature does not contain many relevant references regarding the development and use of innovative items in psychological testing. Our study presents and evaluates two novel item types. One item type is derived from a standard schematic test item used for the assessment of the spatial perception aspect of spatial ability, enhanced by an interactive response module. The performance on this item type is correlated with the performance on its paper and pencil counterpart. The other innovative item type used complex stimuli in the form of a short video of a ride through a city presented in an on-route perspective, which is intended to measure navigation skills and the ability to keep oneself oriented in space. In this case, the scores were related to the capacity of visuo-spatial working memory and also to the overall score in the paper/pencil test of spatial ability. The second relationship was moderated by gender.

Characterizing the relationship between Asian tiger mosquito abundance and habitat in urban New Jersey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferwerda, Carolin

2009-12-01

Since its introduction to North America in 1987, the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has spread rapidly. Due to its unique ecology and preference for container breeding sites, Ae. albopictus commonly inhabits urban/suburban areas and is often in close contact with humans. An aggressive pest, this mosquito species is a vector of multiple arboviruses. In order for mosquito control efforts to remain effective, control of this important vector must be guided by spatially explicit habitat models that aid in predicting mosquito outbreaks. Using linear regression, I determined the relationship between adult Ae. albopictus abundance and climate, census, and land use factors in nine urban/suburban study sites in central New Jersey. Systematically collected adult counts (females and males) from July to October 2008, served as estimates of abundance. Fine-scale land use/land cover data were obtained from object-oriented classifications of 2007 CIR orthophotos in Definiens eCognition. Mosquito abundance data were tested for spatial autocorrelation via Moran's I, semivariograms, and hotspot analysis in order to reveal consistent patterns in abundance. Spatial pattern analysis produced little evidence of consistent spatial autocorrelation, though several sites exhibited recurring hotspots, especially in areas near residential housing and vegetation. Stepwise multiple regression was able to explain 20-25 percent of variation in Ae. albopictus abundance at the 'backyard' or cell level and 72-78 percent of variation in abundance at the 'neighborhood' or study site level. Meteorological variables (temperature on the trap date and precipitation), census variables (vacant housing units and population density), and more detailed land use/land cover classes (deciduous woody vegetation, rights-of-way and vacant lots) were frequently selected in all eight models, though many other independent variables were included in the individual models. The results of the spatial statistics suggest that clustering may occur at a broader extent, while the superior predictive ability of the site level models over the finer grain cell level models supports this conclusion. Future work should focus on validating these models with 2009 field data and testing whether finer grain weather and census data enhance the models' predictive ability. Given the major differences between individual county models, future studies should further explore variations in Ae. albopictus habitat preferences in different geographic locations.

Are Gender Differences in Spatial Ability Real or an Artifact? Evaluation of Measurement Invariance on the Revised PSVT:R

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maeda, Yukiko; Yoon, So Yoon

2016-01-01

We investigated the extent to which the observed gender differences in mental rotation ability among the 2,468 freshmen studying engineering at a Midwest public university attributed to the gender bias of a test. The Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests: Visualization of Rotations (Revised PSVT:R) is a spatial test frequently used to measure…

Challenging Hydrological Panaceas: Water poverty governance accounting for spatial scale in the Niger River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, John; Kaczan, David

2014-11-01

Water poverty in the Niger River Basin is a function of physical constraints affecting access and supply, and institutional arrangements affecting the ability to utilise the water resource. This distinction reflects the complexity of water poverty and points to the need to look beyond technical and financial means alone to reduce its prevalence and severity. Policy decisions affecting water resources are generally made at a state or national level. Hydrological and socio-economic evaluations at these levels, or at the basin level, cannot be presumed to be concordant with the differentiation of poverty or livelihood vulnerability at more local levels. We focus on three objectives: first, the initial mapping of observed poverty, using two health metrics and a household assets metric; second, the estimation of factors which potentially influence the observed poverty patterns; and third, a consideration of spatial non-stationarity, which identifies spatial correlates of poverty in the places where their effects appear most severe. We quantify the extent to which different levels of analysis influence these results. Comparative analysis of correlates of poverty at basin, national and local levels shows limited congruence. Variation in water quantity, and the presence of irrigation and dams had either limited or no significant correlation with observed variation in poverty measures across levels. Education and access to improved water quality were the only variables consistently significant and spatially stable across the entire basin. At all levels, education is the most consistent non-water correlate of poverty while access to protected water sources is the strongest water related correlate. The analysis indicates that landscape and scale matter for understanding water-poverty linkages and for devising policy concerned with alleviating water poverty. Interactions between environmental, social and institutional factors are complex and consequently a comprehensive understanding of poverty and its causes requires analysis at multiple spatial resolutions.

Towards Anatomic Scale Agent-Based Modeling with a Massively Parallel Spatially Explicit General-Purpose Model of Enteric Tissue (SEGMEnT_HPC)

PubMed Central

Cockrell, Robert Chase; Christley, Scott; Chang, Eugene; An, Gary

2015-01-01

Perhaps the greatest challenge currently facing the biomedical research community is the ability to integrate highly detailed cellular and molecular mechanisms to represent clinical disease states as a pathway to engineer effective therapeutics. This is particularly evident in the representation of organ-level pathophysiology in terms of abnormal tissue structure, which, through histology, remains a mainstay in disease diagnosis and staging. As such, being able to generate anatomic scale simulations is a highly desirable goal. While computational limitations have previously constrained the size and scope of multi-scale computational models, advances in the capacity and availability of high-performance computing (HPC) resources have greatly expanded the ability of computational models of biological systems to achieve anatomic, clinically relevant scale. Diseases of the intestinal tract are exemplary examples of pathophysiological processes that manifest at multiple scales of spatial resolution, with structural abnormalities present at the microscopic, macroscopic and organ-levels. In this paper, we describe a novel, massively parallel computational model of the gut, the Spatially Explicitly General-purpose Model of Enteric Tissue_HPC (SEGMEnT_HPC), which extends an existing model of the gut epithelium, SEGMEnT, in order to create cell-for-cell anatomic scale simulations. We present an example implementation of SEGMEnT_HPC that simulates the pathogenesis of ileal pouchitis, and important clinical entity that affects patients following remedial surgery for ulcerative colitis. PMID:25806784

Evaluate error correction ability of magnetorheological finishing by smoothing spectral function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jia; Fan, Bin; Wan, Yongjian; Shi, Chunyan; Zhuo, Bin

2014-08-01

Power Spectral Density (PSD) has been entrenched in optics design and manufacturing as a characterization of mid-high spatial frequency (MHSF) errors. Smoothing Spectral Function (SSF) is a newly proposed parameter that based on PSD to evaluate error correction ability of computer controlled optical surfacing (CCOS) technologies. As a typical deterministic and sub-aperture finishing technology based on CCOS, magnetorheological finishing (MRF) leads to MHSF errors inevitably. SSF is employed to research different spatial frequency error correction ability of MRF process. The surface figures and PSD curves of work-piece machined by MRF are presented. By calculating SSF curve, the correction ability of MRF for different spatial frequency errors will be indicated as a normalized numerical value.

Long-term acarbose administration alleviating the impairment of spatial learning and memory in the SAMP8 mice was associated with alleviated reduction of insulin system and acetylated H4K8.

PubMed

Yan, Wen-Wen; Chen, Gui-Hai; Wang, Fang; Tong, Jing-Jing; Tao, Fei

2015-04-07

Age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) not only reduces the quality of life for the elderly but also increases the costs of healthcare for society. Methods that can regulate glucose metabolism, insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) system and acetylated histone H4 lysine 8 (H4K8ac), one of the most well-researched facets of histone acetylation modification associating with cognition, tend to ameliorate the AAMI. Here, we used SAMP8 mice, the excellent animal model of aging and AAMI, to study the effect of long-term treatment with acarbose, an inhibitor of a-glucosidase, on AAMI and explore whether blood glucose, insulin/IGF-1 system and H4K8ac are associated with potential effects. The treatment group received acarbose (20mg/kg/d, dissolved in drinking water) at the age of 3-month until 9-month old before the behavioral test, and the controls only received water. Compared to the young controls (3-month-old, n=11), the old group (9-month-old, n=8) had declined abilities of spatial learning and memory and levels of serum insulin, hippocampal insulin receptors (InsRs) and H4K8ac. Interestingly, the acarbose group (9-month-old, n=9) showed better abilities of spatial learning and memory and higher levels of insulin, InsRs and H4K8ac relative to the old controls. Good performance of spatial learning and memory was positively correlated with the elevated insulin, InsRs and H4K8ac. All these results suggested that long-term administration of acarbose could alleviate the age-related impairment of spatial learning and memory in the SAMP8 mice, and the alleviated reduction of an insulin system and H4K8ac might be associated with the alleviation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Blue light filtered white light induces depression-like responses and temporary spatial learning deficits in rats.

PubMed

Meng, Qinghe; Lian, Yuzheng; Jiang, Jianjun; Wang, Wei; Hou, Xiaohong; Pan, Yao; Chu, Hongqian; Shang, Lanqin; Wei, Xuetao; Hao, Weidong

2018-04-18

Ambient light has a vital impact on mood and cognitive functions. Blue light has been previously reported to play a salient role in the antidepressant effect via melanopsin. Whether blue light filtered white light (BFW) affects mood and cognitive functions remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate whether BFW led to depression-like symptoms and cognitive deficits including spatial learning and memory abilities in rats, and whether they were associated with the light-responsive function in retinal explants. Male Sprague-Dawley albino rats were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 10) and treated with a white light-emitting diode (LED) light source and BFW light source, respectively, under a standard 12 : 12 h L/D condition over 30 days. The sucrose consumption test, forced swim test (FST) and the level of plasma corticosterone (CORT) were employed to evaluate depression-like symptoms in rats. Cognitive functions were assessed by the Morris water maze (MWM) test. A multi-electrode array (MEA) system was utilized to measure electro-retinogram (ERG) responses induced by white or BFW flashes. The effect of BFW over 30 days on depression-like responses in rats was indicated by decreased sucrose consumption in the sucrose consumption test, an increased immobility time in the FST and an elevated level of plasma CORT. BFW led to temporary spatial learning deficits in rats, which was evidenced by prolonged escape latency and swimming distances in the spatial navigation test. However, no changes were observed in the short memory ability of rats treated with BFW. The micro-ERG results showed a delayed implicit time and reduced amplitudes evoked by BFW flashes compared to the white flash group. BFW induces depression-like symptoms and temporary spatial learning deficits in rats, which might be closely related to the impairment of light-evoked output signals in the retina.

Sea level: measuring the bounding surfaces of the ocean.

PubMed

Tamisiea, Mark E; Hughes, Chris W; Williams, Simon D P; Bingley, Richard M

2014-09-28

The practical need to understand sea level along the coasts, such as for safe navigation given the spatially variable tides, has resulted in tide gauge observations having the distinction of being some of the longest instrumental ocean records. Archives of these records, along with geological constraints, have allowed us to identify the century-scale rise in global sea level. Additional data sources, particularly satellite altimetry missions, have helped us to better identify the rates and causes of sea-level rise and the mechanisms leading to spatial variability in the observed rates. Analysis of all of the data reveals the need for long-term and stable observation systems to assess accurately the regional changes as well as to improve our ability to estimate future changes in sea level. While information from many scientific disciplines is needed to understand sea-level change, this review focuses on contributions from geodesy and the role of the ocean's bounding surfaces: the sea surface and the Earth's crust. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Interaction of Experiential and Neurological Factors in the Patterning of Human Abilities: The Question of Sex Differences in 'Right Hemisphere' Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Lauren Jay

Sex differences in cerebral organization and functioning, and the apparent superiority of males in spatial ability are examined in this paper. Attention is given to several kinds of cognitive and perceptual tasks in which sex differences in spatial ability have been shown to exist; among these are tasks involving: (1) recall and detection of…

Sex-dependent effects of developmental exposure to different pesticides on spatial learning. The role of induced neuroinflammation in the hippocampus.

PubMed

Gómez-Giménez, Belén; Llansola, Marta; Hernández-Rabaza, Vicente; Cabrera-Pastor, Andrea; Malaguarnera, Michele; Agusti, Ana; Felipo, Vicente

2017-01-01

The use of pesticides has been associated with impaired neurodevelopment in children. The aims of this work were to assess: 1) the effects on spatial learning of developmental exposure to pesticides 2) if the effects are sex-dependent and 3) if hippocampal neuroinflammation is associated with the impairment of spatial learning. We analyzed the effects of developmental exposure to four pesticides: chlorpyrifos, carbaryl, endosulfan and cypermethrin. Exposure was from gestational day 7 to post-natal day 21 and spatial learning and memory was assessed when the rats were young adults. The effects of pesticides on spatial learning were pesticide and gender-dependent. Carbaryl did not affect spatial learning in males or females. Endosulfan and chlorpyrifos impaired learning in males but not in females. Cypermethrin improved spatial learning in the Morris water maze both in males and females while impaired learning in the radial maze only in males. Spatial learning ability was lower in control female rats than in males. All pesticides induced neuroinflammation, increasing IL-1b content in the hippocampus and there is a negative correlation between IL-1b levels in the hippocampus and spatial learning. Neuroinflammation would contribute to the effects of pesticides on spatial learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors influencing speech perception in noise for 5-year-old children using hearing aids or cochlear implants.

PubMed

Ching, Teresa Yc; Zhang, Vicky W; Flynn, Christopher; Burns, Lauren; Button, Laura; Hou, Sanna; McGhie, Karen; Van Buynder, Patricia

2017-07-07

We investigated the factors influencing speech perception in babble for 5-year-old children with hearing loss who were using hearing aids (HAs) or cochlear implants (CIs). Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) for 50% correct identification were measured in two conditions - speech collocated with babble, and speech with spatially separated babble. The difference in SRTs between the two conditions give a measure of binaural unmasking, commonly known as spatial release from masking (SRM). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the influence of a range of demographic factors on outcomes. Participants were 252 children enrolled in the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study. Children using HAs or CIs required a better signal-to-noise ratio to achieve the same level of performance as their normal-hearing peers but demonstrated SRM of a similar magnitude. For children using HAs, speech perception was significantly influenced by cognitive and language abilities. For children using CIs, age at CI activation and language ability were significant predictors of speech perception outcomes. Speech perception in children with hearing loss can be enhanced by improving their language abilities. Early age at cochlear implantation was also associated with better outcomes.

Effects of maternal stress during pregnancy on learning and memory via hippocampal BDNF, Arc (Arg3.1) expression in offspring.

PubMed

Guan, Su-Zhen; Ning, Li; Tao, Ning; Lian, Yu-Long; Liu, Ji-Wen; Ng, Tzi Bun

2016-09-01

The intrauterine environment has a significant long-term impact on individual's life, this study was designed to investigate the effect of stress during pregnancy on offspring's learning and memory abilities and analyze its mechanisms from the expression of BDNF and Arc in the hippocampus of the offspring. A rat model of maternal chronic stress during pregnancy was mating from 3rd day during been subjecting to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). The body weights and behavioral changes were recorded, and plasma corticosterone levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. The learning and memory abilities of the offspring were measured by Morris water maze testing from PND 42. The expression of hippocampal BDNF and Arc mRNA and protein were respectively measured using RT-PCR and Western blotting. Results indicated that an elevation was observed in the plasma corticosterone level of rat model of maternal chronic stress during pregnancy, a reduction in the crossing and rearing movement times and the preference for sucrose. The body weight of maternal stress's offspring was lower than the control group, and the plasma corticosterone level was increased. Chronic stress during pregnancy had a significant impact on the spatial learning and memory of the offspring. The expression of BDNF mRNA and protein, Arc protein in offspring of maternal stress during pregnancy was attenuated and some relationships existed between these parameters. Collectively, these findings disclose that long-time maternal stress during pregnancy could destroy spatial learning and memory abilities of the offspring, the mechanism of which is related to been improving maternal plasma corticosterone and reduced hippocampal BDNF, Arc of offspring rats. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Spatial and numerical processing in children with high and low visuospatial abilities.

PubMed

Crollen, Virginie; Noël, Marie-Pascale

2015-04-01

In the literature on numerical cognition, a strong association between numbers and space has been repeatedly demonstrated. However, only a few recent studies have been devoted to examine the consequences of low visuospatial abilities on calculation processing. In this study, we wanted to investigate whether visuospatial weakness may affect pure spatial processing as well as basic numerical reasoning. To do so, the performances of children with high and low visuospatial abilities were directly compared on different spatial tasks (the line bisection and Simon tasks) and numerical tasks (the number bisection, number-to-position, and numerical comparison tasks). Children from the low visuospatial group presented the classic Simon and SNARC (spatial numerical association of response codes) effects but showed larger deviation errors as compared with the high visuospatial group. Our results, therefore, demonstrated that low visuospatial abilities did not change the nature of the mental number line but rather led to a decrease in its accuracy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of variations of stage and flux at different frequencies on the estimates using river stage tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y. L.; Yeh, T. C. J.; Wen, J. C.

2017-12-01

This study is to investigate the ability of river stage tomography to estimate the spatial distribution of hydraulic transmissivity (T), storage coefficient (S), and diffusivity (D) in groundwater basins using information of groundwater level variations induced by periodic variations of stream stage, and infiltrated flux from the stream boundary. In order to accomplish this objective, the sensitivity and correlation of groundwater heads with respect to the hydraulic properties is first conducted to investigate the spatial characteristics of groundwater level in response to the stream variations at different frequencies. Results of the analysis show that the spatial distributions of the sensitivity of heads at an observation well in response to periodic river stage variations are highly correlated despite different frequencies. On the other hand, the spatial patterns of the sensitivity of the observed head to river flux boundaries at different frequencies are different. Specifically, the observed head is highly correlated with T at the region between the stream and observation well when the high-frequency periodic flux is considered. On the other hand, it is highly correlated with T at the region between monitoring well and the boundary opposite to the stream when the low-frequency periodic flux is prescribed to the stream. We also find that the spatial distributions of the sensitivity of observed head to S variation are highly correlated with all frequencies in spite of heads or fluxes stream boundary. Subsequently, the differences of the spatial correlations of the observed heads to the hydraulic properties under the head and flux boundary conditions are further investigated by an inverse model (i.e., successive stochastic linear estimator). This investigation uses noise-free groundwater and stream data of a synthetic aquifer, where aquifer heterogeneity is known exactly. The ability of river stage tomography is then tested with these synthetic data sets to estimate T, S, and D distribution. The results reveal that boundary flux variations with different frequencies contain different information about the aquifer characteristics while the head boundary does not.

Spatial complexity of character-based writing systems and arithmetic in primary school: a longitudinal study

PubMed Central

Rodic, Maja; Tikhomirova, Tatiana; Kolienko, Tatiana; Malykh, Sergey; Bogdanova, Olga; Zueva, Dina Y.; Gynku, Elena I.; Wan, Sirui; Zhou, Xinlin; Kovas, Yulia

2015-01-01

Previous research has consistently found an association between spatial and mathematical abilities. We hypothesized that this link may partially explain the consistently observed advantage in mathematics demonstrated by East Asian children. Spatial complexity of the character-based writing systems may reflect or lead to a cognitive advantage relevant to mathematics. Seven hundered and twenty one 6–9-year old children from the UK and Russia were assessed on a battery of cognitive skills and arithmetic. The Russian children were recruited from specialist linguistic schools and divided into four different language groups, based on the second language they were learning (i.e., English, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese). The UK children attended regular schools and were not learning any second language. The testing took place twice across the school year, once at the beginning, before the start of the second language acquisition, and once at the end of the year. The study had two aims: (1) to test whether spatial ability predicts mathematical ability in 7–9 year-old children across the samples; (2) to test whether acquisition and usage of a character-based writing system leads to an advantage in performance in arithmetic and related cognitive tasks. The longitudinal link from spatial ability to mathematics was found only in the Russian sample. The effect of second language acquisition on mathematics or other cognitive skills was negligible, although some effect of Chinese language on mathematical reasoning was suggested. Overall, the findings suggest that although spatial ability is related to mathematics at this age, one academic year of exposure to spatially complex writing systems is not enough to provide a mathematical advantage. Other educational and socio-cultural factors might play a greater role in explaining individual and cross-cultural differences in arithmetic at this age. PMID:25859235

Spatial complexity of character-based writing systems and arithmetic in primary school: a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Rodic, Maja; Tikhomirova, Tatiana; Kolienko, Tatiana; Malykh, Sergey; Bogdanova, Olga; Zueva, Dina Y; Gynku, Elena I; Wan, Sirui; Zhou, Xinlin; Kovas, Yulia

2015-01-01

Previous research has consistently found an association between spatial and mathematical abilities. We hypothesized that this link may partially explain the consistently observed advantage in mathematics demonstrated by East Asian children. Spatial complexity of the character-based writing systems may reflect or lead to a cognitive advantage relevant to mathematics. Seven hundered and twenty one 6-9-year old children from the UK and Russia were assessed on a battery of cognitive skills and arithmetic. The Russian children were recruited from specialist linguistic schools and divided into four different language groups, based on the second language they were learning (i.e., English, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese). The UK children attended regular schools and were not learning any second language. The testing took place twice across the school year, once at the beginning, before the start of the second language acquisition, and once at the end of the year. The study had two aims: (1) to test whether spatial ability predicts mathematical ability in 7-9 year-old children across the samples; (2) to test whether acquisition and usage of a character-based writing system leads to an advantage in performance in arithmetic and related cognitive tasks. The longitudinal link from spatial ability to mathematics was found only in the Russian sample. The effect of second language acquisition on mathematics or other cognitive skills was negligible, although some effect of Chinese language on mathematical reasoning was suggested. Overall, the findings suggest that although spatial ability is related to mathematics at this age, one academic year of exposure to spatially complex writing systems is not enough to provide a mathematical advantage. Other educational and socio-cultural factors might play a greater role in explaining individual and cross-cultural differences in arithmetic at this age.

Differences in spatial working memory as a function of team sports expertise: the Corsi Block-tapping task in sport psychological assessment.

PubMed

Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel

2010-06-01

Individual differences in visuospatial abilities were investigated in experienced basketball players compared with nonathletes. Most research shows that experts and novices do not differ on basic cognitive ability tests. Nevertheless, there are some equivocal findings indicating there are differences in basic cognitive abilities such as attention. The goal of the present research was to investigate team-ball athletes in regard to their visuospatial abilities. 112 male college students (54 basketball players, 58 nonathlete college students) were tested in their spatial capacity with the Corsi Block-tapping Task. No differences in spatial capacity were evident between basketball players and nonathlete college students. The results are discussed in the context of the expert performance approach and individual difference research.

Photography activities for developing students’ spatial orientation and spatial visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendroanto, Aan; van Galen, Frans; van Eerde, D.; Prahmana, R. C. I.; Setyawan, F.; Istiandaru, A.

2017-12-01

Spatial orientation and spatial visualization are the foundation of students’ spatial ability. They assist students’ performance in learning mathematics, especially geometry. Considering its importance, the present study aims to design activities to help young learners developing their spatial orientation and spatial visualization ability. Photography activity was chosen as the context of the activity to guide and support the students. This is a design research study consisting of three phases: 1) preparation and designing 2) teaching experiment, and 3) retrospective analysis. The data is collected by tests and interview and qualitatively analyzed. We developed two photography activities to be tested. In the teaching experiments, 30 students of SD Laboratorium UNESA, Surabaya were involved. The results showed that the activities supported the development of students’ spatial orientation and spatial visualization indicated by students’ learning progresses, answers, and strategies when they solved the problems in the activities.

Visuospatial Training Improves Elementary Students' Mathematics Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowrie, Tom; Logan, Tracy; Ramful, Ajay

2017-01-01

Background: Although spatial ability and mathematics performance are highly correlated, there is scant research on the extent to which spatial ability training can improve mathematics performance. Aims: This study evaluated the efficacy of a visuospatial intervention programme within classrooms to determine the effect on students' (1) spatial…

Learning Anatomy Enhances Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vorstenbosch, Marc A. T. M.; Klaassen, Tim P. F. M.; Donders, A. R. T.; Kooloos, Jan G. M.; Bolhuis, Sanneke M.; Laan, Roland F. J. M.

2013-01-01

Spatial ability is an important factor in learning anatomy. Students with high scores on a mental rotation test (MRT) systematically score higher on anatomy examinations. This study aims to investigate if learning anatomy also oppositely improves the MRT-score. Five hundred first year students of medicine ("n" = 242, intervention) and…

The Role of Spatial Ability and Strategy Preference for Spatial Problem Solving in Organic Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stieff, Mike; Ryu, Minjung; Dixon, Bonnie; Hegarty, Mary

2012-01-01

In organic chemistry, spatial reasoning is critical for reasoning about spatial relationships in three dimensions and representing spatial information in diagrams. Despite its importance, little is known about the underlying cognitive components of spatial reasoning and the strategies that students employ to solve spatial problems in organic…

Landmark and route knowledge in children's spatial representation of a virtual environment.

PubMed

Nys, Marion; Gyselinck, Valérie; Orriols, Eric; Hickmann, Maya

2014-01-01

This study investigates the development of landmark and route knowledge in complex wayfinding situations. It focuses on how children (aged 6, 8, and 10 years) and young adults (n = 79) indicate, recognize, and bind landmarks and directions in both verbal and visuo-spatial tasks after learning a virtual route. Performance in these tasks is also related to general verbal and visuo-spatial abilities as assessed by independent standardized tests (attention, working memory, perception of direction, production and comprehension of spatial terms, sentences and stories). The results first show that the quantity and quality of landmarks and directions produced and recognized by participants in both verbal and visuo-spatial tasks increased with age. In addition, an increase with age was observed in participants' selection of decisional landmarks (i.e., landmarks associated with a change of direction), as well as in their capacity to bind landmarks and directions. Our results support the view that children first acquire landmark knowledge, then route knowledge, as shown by their late developing ability to bind knowledge of directions and landmarks. Overall, the quality of verbal and visuo-spatial information in participants' spatial representations was found to vary mostly with their visuo-spatial abilities (attention and perception of directions) and not with their verbal abilities. Interestingly, however, when asked to recognize landmarks encountered during the route, participants show an increasing bias with age toward choosing a related landmark of the same category, regardless of its visual characteristics, i.e., they incorrectly choose the picture of another fountain. The discussion highlights the need for further studies to determine more precisely the role of verbal and visuo-spatial knowledge and the nature of how children learn to represent and memorize routes.

Nurture affects gender differences in spatial abilities.

PubMed

Hoffman, Moshe; Gneezy, Uri; List, John A

2011-09-06

Women remain significantly underrepresented in the science, engineering, and technology workforce. Some have argued that spatial ability differences, which represent the most persistent gender differences in the cognitive literature, are partly responsible for this gap(.) The underlying forces at work shaping the observed spatial ability differences revolve naturally around the relative roles of nature and nurture. Although these forces remain among the most hotly debated in all of the sciences, the evidence for nurture is tenuous, because it is difficult to compare gender differences among biologically similar groups with distinct nurture. In this study, we use a large-scale incentivized experiment with nearly 1,300 participants to show that the gender gap in spatial abilities, measured by time to solve a puzzle, disappears when we move from a patrilineal society to an adjoining matrilineal society. We also show that about one-third of the effect can be explained by differences in education. Given that none of our participants have experience with puzzle solving and that villagers from both societies have the same means of subsistence and shared genetic background, we argue that these results show the role of nurture in the gender gap in cognitive abilities.

Nurture affects gender differences in spatial abilities

PubMed Central

Hoffman, Moshe; Gneezy, Uri; List, John A.

2011-01-01

Women remain significantly underrepresented in the science, engineering, and technology workforce. Some have argued that spatial ability differences, which represent the most persistent gender differences in the cognitive literature, are partly responsible for this gap. The underlying forces at work shaping the observed spatial ability differences revolve naturally around the relative roles of nature and nurture. Although these forces remain among the most hotly debated in all of the sciences, the evidence for nurture is tenuous, because it is difficult to compare gender differences among biologically similar groups with distinct nurture. In this study, we use a large-scale incentivized experiment with nearly 1,300 participants to show that the gender gap in spatial abilities, measured by time to solve a puzzle, disappears when we move from a patrilineal society to an adjoining matrilineal society. We also show that about one-third of the effect can be explained by differences in education. Given that none of our participants have experience with puzzle solving and that villagers from both societies have the same means of subsistence and shared genetic background, we argue that these results show the role of nurture in the gender gap in cognitive abilities. PMID:21876159

Creativity, visualization abilities, and visual cognitive style.

PubMed

Kozhevnikov, Maria; Kozhevnikov, Michael; Yu, Chen Jiao; Blazhenkova, Olesya

2013-06-01

Despite the recent evidence for a multi-component nature of both visual imagery and creativity, there have been no systematic studies on how the different dimensions of creativity and imagery might interrelate. The main goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between different dimensions of creativity (artistic and scientific) and dimensions of visualization abilities and styles (object and spatial). In addition, we compared the contributions of object and spatial visualization abilities versus corresponding styles to scientific and artistic dimensions of creativity. Twenty-four undergraduate students (12 females) were recruited for the first study, and 75 additional participants (36 females) were recruited for an additional experiment. Participants were administered a number of object and spatial visualization abilities and style assessments as well as a number of artistic and scientific creativity tests. The results show that object visualization relates to artistic creativity and spatial visualization relates to scientific creativity, while both are distinct from verbal creativity. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that style predicts corresponding dimension of creativity even after removing shared variance between style and visualization ability. The results suggest that styles might be a more ecologically valid construct in predicting real-life creative behaviour, such as performance in different professional domains. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Spatial Strategies and Spatial Training in the Collegiate Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Justine C.

This paper discusses the results of two studies both dealing with spatial abilities and training. The first investigated the kinds of spatial strategies and personal experiences, both nonacademic and academic, that distinguish students preparing for high spatial careers from others. The second study focused on the effectiveness of spatial training…

Dissociation of spatial memory systems in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Bostelmann, Mathilde; Fragnière, Emilie; Costanzo, Floriana; Di Vara, Silvia; Menghini, Deny; Vicari, Stefano; Lavenex, Pierre; Lavenex, Pamela Banta

2017-11-01

Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic deletion syndrome, is characterized by severe visuospatial deficits affecting performance on both tabletop spatial tasks and on tasks which assess orientation and navigation. Nevertheless, previous studies of WS spatial capacities have ignored the fact that two different spatial memory systems are believed to contribute parallel spatial representations supporting navigation. The place learning system depends on the hippocampal formation and creates flexible relational representations of the environment, also known as cognitive maps. The spatial response learning system depends on the striatum and creates fixed stimulus-response representations, also known as habits. Indeed, no study assessing WS spatial competence has used tasks which selectively target these two spatial memory systems. Here, we report that individuals with WS exhibit a dissociation in their spatial abilities subserved by these two memory systems. As compared to typically developing (TD) children in the same mental age range, place learning performance was impaired in individuals with WS. In contrast, their spatial response learning performance was facilitated. Our findings in individuals with WS and TD children suggest that place learning and response learning interact competitively to control the behavioral strategies normally used to support human spatial navigation. Our findings further suggest that the neural pathways supporting place learning may be affected by the genetic deletion that characterizes WS, whereas those supporting response learning may be relatively preserved. The dissociation observed between these two spatial memory systems provides a coherent theoretical framework to characterize the spatial abilities of individuals with WS, and may lead to the development of new learning strategies based on their facilitated response learning abilities. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Incubation under climate warming affects learning ability and survival in hatchling lizards.

PubMed

Dayananda, Buddhi; Webb, Jonathan K

2017-03-01

Despite compelling evidence for substantial individual differences in cognitive performance, it is unclear whether cognitive ability influences fitness of wild animals. In many animals, environmental stressors experienced in utero can produce substantial variation in the cognitive abilities of offspring. In reptiles, incubation temperatures experienced by embryos can influence hatchling brain function and learning ability. Under climate warming, the eggs of some lizard species may experience higher temperatures, which could affect the cognitive abilities of hatchlings. Whether such changes in cognitive abilities influence the survival of hatchlings is unknown. To determine whether incubation-induced changes in spatial learning ability affect hatchling survival, we incubated velvet gecko, Amalosia lesueurii , eggs using two fluctuating temperature regimes to mimic current (cold) versus future (hot) nest temperatures. We measured the spatial learning ability of hatchlings from each treatment, and released individually marked animals at two field sites in southeastern Australia. Hatchlings from hot-incubated eggs were slower learners than hatchlings from cold-incubated eggs. Survival analyses revealed that hatchlings with higher learning scores had higher survival than hatchlings with poor learning scores. Our results show that incubation temperature affects spatial learning ability in hatchling lizards, and that such changes can influence the survival of hatchlings in the wild. © 2017 The Author(s).

Effects of Spatial Ability, Gender Differences, and Pictorial Training on Children Using 2-D and 3-D Environments to Recall Landmark Locations from Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kopcha, Theodore J.; Otumfuor, Beryl A.; Wang, Lu

2015-01-01

This study examines the effects of spatial ability, gender differences, and pictorial training on fourth grade students' ability to recall landmark locations from memory. Ninety-six students used Google Earth over a 3-week period to locate landmarks (3-D) and mark their location on a 2-D topographical map. Analysis of covariance on posttest scores…

On Developing Students' Spatial Visualisation Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Risma, Dwi Afrini; Putri, Ratu Ilma Indra; Hartono, Yusuf

2013-01-01

This research aims at studying on how students develop their spatial visualisation abilities. In this paper, one of five activities in an ongoing classroom activity is discussed. This paper documents students' learning activity in exploring the building blocks. The goal of teaching experiment is to support the development of students' spatial…

Decision Performance Using Spatial Decision Support Systems: A Geospatial Reasoning Ability Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erskine, Michael A.

2013-01-01

As many consumer and business decision makers are utilizing Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), a thorough understanding of how such decisions are made is crucial for the information systems domain. This dissertation presents six chapters encompassing a comprehensive analysis of the impact of geospatial reasoning ability on…

Spatial Visualization Ability and Laparoscopic Skills in Novice Learners: Evaluating Stereoscopic versus Monoscopic Visualizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roach, Victoria A.; Mistry, Manisha R.; Wilson, Timothy D.

2014-01-01

Elevated spatial visualization ability (Vz) is thought to influence surgical skill acquisition and performance. Current research suggests that stereo visualization technology and its association with skill performance may confer perceptual advantages. This is of particular interest in laparoscopic skill training, where stereo visualization may…

Are Numerical Impairments Syndrome Specific? Evidence from Williams Syndrome and Down's Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paterson, Sarah J.; Girelli, Luisa; Butterworth, Brian; Karmiloff-Smith, Annette

2006-01-01

Background: Several theorists maintain that exact number abilities rely on language-relevant processes whereas approximate number calls on visuo-spatial skills. We chose two genetic disorders, Williams syndrome and Down's syndrome, which differ in their relative abilities in verbal versus spatial skills, to examine this hypothesis. Five…

Biology Today: New Developments in Reproductive Biology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flannery, Maura C.

1982-01-01

Briefly reviews research studies focusing on sex differences in the human brain. One study suggests that the presence of androgens either during fetal development or at puberty (rather than their continued presence) determines spatial ability. Cautions against accepting this hypothesis of hormonal influence of spatial ability are discussed.…

Supporting Student Differences in Listening Comprehension and Vocabulary Learning with Multimedia Annotations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Linda C.

2009-01-01

This article describes how effectively multimedia learning environments can assist second language (L2) students of different spatial and verbal abilities with listening comprehension and vocabulary learning. In particular, it explores how written and pictorial annotations interacted with high/low spatial and verbal ability learners and thus…

Neurobiological and Endocrine Correlates of Individual Differences in Spatial Learning Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandi, Carmen; Cordero, M. Isabel; Merino, Jose J.; Kruyt, Nyika D.; Regan, Ciaran M.; Murphy, Keith J.

2004-01-01

The polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) has been implicated in activity-dependent synaptic remodeling and memory formation. Here, we questioned whether training-induced modulation of PSA-NCAM expression might be related to individual differences in spatial learning abilities. At 12 h posttraining, immunohistochemical analyses…

Spatial Ability Improvement and Curriculum Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connolly, Patrick E.

2009-01-01

There has been a significant history of research on spatial ability and visualization improvement and related curriculum content presented by members of the Engineering Design Graphics Division over the past decade. Recently, interest in this topic has again been heightened thanks to the work of several division members on research such as the…

Sex differences in intrinsic aptitude for mathematics and science?: a critical review.

PubMed

Spelke, Elizabeth S

2005-12-01

This article considers 3 claims that cognitive sex differences account for the differential representation of men and women in high-level careers in mathematics and science: (a) males are more focused on objects from the beginning of life and therefore are predisposed to better learning about mechanical systems; (b) males have a profile of spatial and numerical abilities producing greater aptitude for mathematics; and (c) males are more variable in their cognitive abilities and therefore predominate at the upper reaches of mathematical talent. Research on cognitive development in human infants, preschool children, and students at all levels fails to support these claims. Instead, it provides evidence that mathematical and scientific reasoning develop from a set of biologically based cognitive capacities that males and females share. These capacities lead men and women to develop equal talent for mathematics and science.

The measurement of enhancement in mathematical abilities as a result of joint cognitive trainings in numerical and visual- spatial skills: A preliminary study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agus, M.; Mascia, M. L.; Fastame, M. C.; Melis, V.; Pilloni, M. C.; Penna, M. P.

2015-02-01

A body of literature shows the significant role of visual-spatial skills played in the improvement of mathematical skills in the primary school. The main goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of a combined visuo-spatial and mathematical training on the improvement of mathematical skills in 146 second graders of several schools located in Italy. Participants were presented single pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial or mathematical trainings, computerised version of the above mentioned treatments, as well as a combined version of computer-assisted and pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings, respectively. Experimental groups were presented with training for 3 months, once a week. All children were treated collectively both in computer-assisted or pencil-and-paper modalities. At pre and post-test all our participants were presented with a battery of objective tests assessing numerical and visuo-spatial abilities. Our results suggest the positive effect of different types of training for the empowerment of visuo-spatial and numerical abilities. Specifically, the combination of computerised and pencil-and-paper versions of visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings are more effective than the single execution of the software or of the pencil-and-paper treatment.

Image understanding systems based on the unifying representation of perceptual and conceptual information and the solution of mid-level and high-level vision problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuvychko, Igor

2001-10-01

Vision is a part of a larger information system that converts visual information into knowledge structures. These structures drive vision process, resolving ambiguity and uncertainty via feedback, and provide image understanding, that is an interpretation of visual information in terms of such knowledge models. A computer vision system based on such principles requires unifying representation of perceptual and conceptual information. Computer simulation models are built on the basis of graphs/networks. The ability of human brain to emulate similar graph/networks models is found. That means a very important shift of paradigm in our knowledge about brain from neural networks to the cortical software. Starting from the primary visual areas, brain analyzes an image as a graph-type spatial structure. Primary areas provide active fusion of image features on a spatial grid-like structure, where nodes are cortical columns. The spatial combination of different neighbor features cannot be described as a statistical/integral characteristic of the analyzed region, but uniquely characterizes such region itself. Spatial logic and topology naturally present in such structures. Mid-level vision processes like clustering, perceptual grouping, multilevel hierarchical compression, separation of figure from ground, etc. are special kinds of graph/network transformations. They convert low-level image structure into the set of more abstract ones, which represent objects and visual scene, making them easy for analysis by higher-level knowledge structures. Higher-level vision phenomena like shape from shading, occlusion, etc. are results of such analysis. Such approach gives opportunity not only to explain frequently unexplainable results of the cognitive science, but also to create intelligent computer vision systems that simulate perceptional processes in both what and where visual pathways. Such systems can open new horizons for robotic and computer vision industries.

A Spatial Allocation Procedure to Downscale Regional Crop Production Estimates from an Integrated Assessment Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moulds, S.; Djordjevic, S.; Savic, D.

2017-12-01

The Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM), an integrated assessment model, provides insight into the interactions and feedbacks between physical and human systems. The land system component of GCAM, which simulates land use activities and the production of major crops, produces output at the subregional level which must be spatially downscaled in order to use with gridded impact assessment models. However, existing downscaling routines typically consider cropland as a homogeneous class and do not provide information about land use intensity or specific management practices such as irrigation and multiple cropping. This paper presents a spatial allocation procedure to downscale crop production data from GCAM to a spatial grid, producing a time series of maps which show the spatial distribution of specific crops (e.g. rice, wheat, maize) at four input levels (subsistence, low input rainfed, high input rainfed and high input irrigated). The model algorithm is constrained by available cropland at each time point and therefore implicitly balances extensification and intensification processes in order to meet global food demand. It utilises a stochastic approach such that an increase in production of a particular crop is more likely to occur in grid cells with a high biophysical suitability and neighbourhood influence, while a fall in production will occur more often in cells with lower suitability. User-supplied rules define the order in which specific crops are downscaled as well as allowable transitions. A regional case study demonstrates the ability of the model to reproduce historical trends in India by comparing the model output with district-level agricultural inventory data. Lastly, the model is used to predict the spatial distribution of crops globally under various GCAM scenarios.

Fine Particulate Matter Predictions Using High Resolution Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) Retrievals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chudnovsky, Alexandra A.; Koutrakis, Petros; Kloog, Itai; Melly, Steven; Nordio, Francesco; Lyapustin, Alexei; Wang, Jujie; Schwartz, Joel

2014-01-01

To date, spatial-temporal patterns of particulate matter (PM) within urban areas have primarily been examined using models. On the other hand, satellites extend spatial coverage but their spatial resolution is too coarse. In order to address this issue, here we report on spatial variability in PM levels derived from high 1 km resolution AOD product of Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm developed for MODIS satellite. We apply day-specific calibrations of AOD data to predict PM(sub 2.5) concentrations within the New England area of the United States. To improve the accuracy of our model, land use and meteorological variables were incorporated. We used inverse probability weighting (IPW) to account for nonrandom missingness of AOD and nested regions within days to capture spatial variation. With this approach we can control for the inherent day-to-day variability in the AOD-PM(sub 2.5) relationship, which depends on time-varying parameters such as particle optical properties, vertical and diurnal concentration profiles and ground surface reflectance among others. Out-of-sample "ten-fold" cross-validation was used to quantify the accuracy of model predictions. Our results show that the model-predicted PM(sub 2.5) mass concentrations are highly correlated with the actual observations, with out-of- sample R(sub 2) of 0.89. Furthermore, our study shows that the model captures the pollution levels along highways and many urban locations thereby extending our ability to investigate the spatial patterns of urban air quality, such as examining exposures in areas with high traffic. Our results also show high accuracy within the cities of Boston and New Haven thereby indicating that MAIAC data can be used to examine intra-urban exposure contrasts in PM(sub 2.5) levels.

Cognitive correlates of spatial navigation: Associations between executive functioning and the virtual Morris Water Task.

PubMed

Korthauer, L E; Nowak, N T; Frahmand, M; Driscoll, I

2017-01-15

Although effective spatial navigation requires memory for objects and locations, navigating a novel environment may also require considerable executive resources. The present study investigated associations between performance on the virtual Morris Water Task (vMWT), an analog version of a nonhuman spatial navigation task, and neuropsychological tests of executive functioning and spatial performance in 75 healthy young adults. More effective vMWT performance (e.g., lower latency and distance to reach hidden platform, greater distance in goal quadrant on a probe trial, fewer path intersections) was associated with better verbal fluency, set switching, response inhibition, and ability to mentally rotate objects. Findings also support a male advantage in spatial navigation, with sex moderating several associations between vMWT performance and executive abilities. Overall, we report a robust relationship between executive functioning and navigational skill, with some evidence that men and women may differentially recruit cognitive abilities when navigating a novel environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Role of Spatial Ability in the Relationship Between Video Game Experience and Route Effectiveness Among Unmanned Vehicle Operators

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

1  THE ROLE OF SPATIAL ABILITY IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIDEO GAME EXPERIENCE AND ROUTE EFFECTIVENESS AMONG UNMANNED VEHICLE OPERATORS...ABSTRACT Effective route planning is essential to the successful operation of unmanned vehicles. Video game experience has been shown to affect...route planning and execution, but why video game experience helps has not been addressed. One answer may be that spatial skills, necessary for route

Understanding Language, Hearing Status, and Visual-Spatial Skills

PubMed Central

Marschark, Marc; Spencer, Linda J.; Durkin, Andreana; Borgna, Georgianna; Convertino, Carol; Machmer, Elizabeth; Kronenberger, William G.; Trani, Alexandra

2015-01-01

It is frequently assumed that deaf individuals have superior visual-spatial abilities relative to hearing peers and thus, in educational settings, they are often considered visual learners. There is some empirical evidence to support the former assumption, although it is inconsistent, and apparently none to support the latter. Three experiments examined visual-spatial and related cognitive abilities among deaf individuals who varied in their preferred language modality and use of cochlear implants (CIs) and hearing individuals who varied in their sign language skills. Sign language and spoken language assessments accompanied tasks involving visual-spatial processing, working memory, nonverbal logical reasoning, and executive function. Results were consistent with other recent studies indicating no generalized visual-spatial advantage for deaf individuals and suggested that their performance in that domain may be linked to the strength of their preferred language skills regardless of modality. Hearing individuals performed more strongly than deaf individuals on several visual-spatial and self-reported executive functioning measures, regardless of sign language skills or use of CIs. Findings are inconsistent with assumptions that deaf individuals are visual learners or are superior to hearing individuals across a broad range of visual-spatial tasks. Further, performance of deaf and hearing individuals on the same visual-spatial tasks was associated with differing cognitive abilities, suggesting that different cognitive processes may be involved in visual-spatial processing in these groups. PMID:26141071

Individual differences in spatial relation processing: effects of strategy, ability, and gender

PubMed Central

van der Ham, Ineke J. M.; Borst, Gregoire

2011-01-01

Numerous studies have focused on the distinction between categorical and coordinate spatial relations. Categorical relations are propositional and abstract, and often related to a left hemisphere advantage. Coordinate relations specify the metric information of the relative locations of objects, and can be linked to right hemisphere processing. Yet, not all studies have reported such a clear double dissociation; in particular the categorical left hemisphere advantage is not always reported. In the current study we investigated whether verbal and spatial strategies, verbal and spatial cognitive abilities, and gender could account for the discrepancies observed in hemispheric lateralization of spatial relations. Seventy-five participants performed two visual half field, match-to-sample tasks (Van der Ham et al., 2007; 2009) to study the lateralization of categorical and coordinate relation processing. For each participant we determined the strategy they used in each of the two tasks. Consistent with previous findings, we found an overall categorical left hemisphere advantage and coordinate right hemisphere advantage. The lateralization pattern was affected selectively by the degree to which participants used a spatial strategy and by none of the other variables (i.e., verbal strategy, cognitive abilities, and gender). Critically, the categorical left hemisphere advantage was observed only for participants that relied strongly on a spatial strategy. This result is another piece of evidence that categorical spatial relation processing relies on spatial and not verbal processes. PMID:21353361

Children's Spatial Thinking: Does Talk about the Spatial World Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pruden, Shannon M.; Levine, Susan C.; Huttenlocher, Janellen

2011-01-01

In this paper we examine the relations between parent spatial language input, children's own production of spatial language, and children's later spatial abilities. Using a longitudinal study design, we coded the use of spatial language (i.e. words describing the spatial features and properties of objects; e.g. big, tall, circle, curvy, edge) from…

Visuospatial, visuoperceptual, and visuoconstructive abilities in congenital hypothyroidism.

PubMed

Simic, Nevena; Khan, Sarah; Rovet, Joanne

2013-11-01

Individuals with congenital hypothyroidism (CH), even those diagnosed and treated early, experience selective cognitive deficits, the most striking of which involves the visuocognitive domain. However, the range and nature of their visuocognitive disturbances is not fully understood. We assessed a range of higher-order visuocognitive abilities in 19 children and adolescents with CH and 19 age- and sex-matched typically developing peers (TD) using a battery of neuropsychological tests and a novel self-report measure of sense of direction. CH scored lower than TD on direct tests of visuocognitive function (judging line orientation, parts-to-whole localization, copying three-dimensional block towers, discriminating designs, and matching unfamiliar faces in ¾ profile-view) as well as on self-reported problems in spatial ability. Visuocognitive problems were not global as CH and TD did not differ at copying two-dimensional block designs, mentally rotating and matching abstract shapes, or at matching unfamiliar front-view faces, design features, or designs that engaged either figure-ground segregation, visual constancy, or closure. Early and concurrent thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were associated with visuocognitive ability, although attention and working memory were not. Individuals with CH exhibit selective visuocognitive weaknesses, some of which are related to early and concurrent TSH levels.

Development of motion-defined figure-ground segregation in preschool and older children, using a letter-identification task.

PubMed

Giaschi, D; Regan, D

1997-09-01

Three-month-old infants can discriminate motion-defined (MD) form, but we do not know the age at which this ability reaches adult levels. Previous psychophysical evidence suggests that different neural mechanisms are involved in the processing of luminance-defined (LD) and MD spatial form in adults. This difference may be reflected in the development of LD versus MD form identification in children. We measured speed threshold for identifying MD letters, letter-chart (i.e, Snellen) acuity for high-contrast LD letters and single-letter acuity for high- and low-contrast LD letters. Forty-seven children between 3 and 12 years of age and 20 adult subjects were tested. Development to the adult level was observed as follows: low-contrast single-letter acuity before 3 years; high-contrast single-letter acuity by 5 to 6 years; the ability to identify MD letters by 7 to 8 years; letter-chart acuity by 9 to 10 years. MD form identification continues to mature in preschool children. LD form identification also matures in this age group but with a different time course. MD letters are not equivalent to low-contrast letters developmentally. Our findings provide further support for the hypothesis that the spatial aspects of MD and LD form are processed separately to some extent.

The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine network optimizes coupling of cerebral blood volume with oxygen demand.

PubMed

Bekar, Lane K; Wei, Helen S; Nedergaard, Maiken

2012-12-01

Given the brain's uniquely high cell density and tissue oxygen levels bordering on hypoxia, the ability to rapidly and precisely match blood flow to constantly changing patterns in neural activity is an essential feature of cerebrovascular regulation. Locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) projections innervate the cerebral vasculature and can mediate vasoconstriction. However, function of the LC-mediated constriction in blood-flow regulation has never been addressed. Here, using intrinsic optical imaging coupled with an anesthesia regimen that only minimally interferes with LC activity, we show that NE enhances spatial and temporal aspects of functional hyperemia in the mouse somatosensory cortex. Increasing NE levels in the cortex using an α(2)-adrenergic receptor antagonist paradoxically reduces the extent of functional hyperemia while enhancing the surround blood-flow reduction. However, the NE-mediated vasoconstriction optimizes spatial and temporal focusing of the hyperemic response resulting in a sixfold decrease in the disparity between blood volume and oxygen demand. In addition, NE-mediated vasoconstriction accelerated redistribution to subsequently active regions, enhancing temporal synchronization of blood delivery. These observations show an important role for NE in optimizing neurovascular coupling. As LC neuron loss is prominent in Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases, the diminished ability to couple blood volume to oxygen demand may contribute to their pathogenesis.

A Novel Heterocyclic Compound CE-104 Enhances Spatial Working Memory in the Radial Arm Maze in Rats and Modulates the Dopaminergic System

PubMed Central

Aher, Yogesh D.; Subramaniyan, Saraswathi; Shanmugasundaram, Bharanidharan; Sase, Ajinkya; Saroja, Sivaprakasam R.; Holy, Marion; Höger, Harald; Beryozkina, Tetyana; Sitte, Harald H.; Leban, Johann J.; Lubec, Gert

2016-01-01

Various psychostimulants targeting monoamine neurotransmitter transporters (MATs) have been shown to rescue cognition in patients with neurological disorders and improve cognitive abilities in healthy subjects at low doses. Here, we examined the effects upon cognition of a chemically synthesized novel MAT inhibiting compound 2-(benzhydrylsulfinylmethyl)-4-methylthiazole (named as CE-104). The efficacy of CE-104 in blocking MAT [dopamine transporter (DAT), serotonin transporter (SERT), and norepinephrine transporter] was determined using in vitro neurotransmitter uptake assay. The effect of the drug at low doses (1 and 10 mg/kg) on spatial memory was studied in male rats in the radial arm maze (RAM). Furthermore, the dopamine receptor and transporter complex levels of frontal cortex (FC) tissue of trained and untrained animals treated either with the drug or vehicle were quantified on blue native PAGE (BN-PAGE). The drug inhibited dopamine (IC50: 27.88 μM) and norepinephrine uptake (IC50: 160.40 μM), but had a negligible effect on SERT. In the RAM, both drug-dose groups improved spatial working memory during the performance phase of RAM as compared to vehicle. BN-PAGE Western blot quantification of dopamine receptor and transporter complexes revealed that D1, D2, D3, and DAT complexes were modulated due to training and by drug effects. The drug’s ability to block DAT and its influence on DAT and receptor complex levels in the FC is proposed as a possible mechanism for the observed learning and memory enhancement in the RAM. PMID:26941626

Attention Modulates Spatial Precision in Multiple-Object Tracking.

PubMed

Srivastava, Nisheeth; Vul, Ed

2016-01-01

We present a computational model of multiple-object tracking that makes trial-level predictions about the allocation of visual attention and the effect of this allocation on observers' ability to track multiple objects simultaneously. This model follows the intuition that increased attention to a location increases the spatial resolution of its internal representation. Using a combination of empirical and computational experiments, we demonstrate the existence of a tight coupling between cognitive and perceptual resources in this task: Low-level tracking of objects generates bottom-up predictions of error likelihood, and high-level attention allocation selectively reduces error probabilities in attended locations while increasing it at non-attended locations. Whereas earlier models of multiple-object tracking have predicted the big picture relationship between stimulus complexity and response accuracy, our approach makes accurate predictions of both the macro-scale effect of target number and velocity on tracking difficulty and micro-scale variations in difficulty across individual trials and targets arising from the idiosyncratic within-trial interactions of targets and distractors. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

The influence of spatial ability and experience on performance during spaceship rendezvous and docking.

PubMed

Du, Xiaoping; Zhang, Yijing; Tian, Yu; Huang, Weifen; Wu, Bin; Zhang, Jingyu

2015-01-01

Manual rendezvous and docking (manual RVD) is a challenging space task for astronauts. Previous research showed a correlation between spatial ability and manual RVD skills among participants at early stages of training, but paid less attention to experts. Therefore, this study tried to explore the role of spatial ability in manual RVD skills in two groups of trainees, one relatively inexperienced and the other experienced operators. Additionally, mental rotation has been proven essential in RVD and was tested in this study among 27 male participants, 15 novices, and 12 experts. The participants performed manual RVD tasks in a high fidelity simulator. Results showed that experience moderated the relation between mental rotation ability and manual RVD performance. On one hand, novices with high mental rotation ability tended to perform that RVD task more successfully; on the other hand, experts with high mental rotation ability showed not only no performance advantage in the final stage of the RVD task, but had certain disadvantages in their earlier processes. Both theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

The influence of spatial ability and experience on performance during spaceship rendezvous and docking

PubMed Central

Du, Xiaoping; Zhang, Yijing; Tian, Yu; Huang, Weifen; Wu, Bin; Zhang, Jingyu

2015-01-01

Manual rendezvous and docking (manual RVD) is a challenging space task for astronauts. Previous research showed a correlation between spatial ability and manual RVD skills among participants at early stages of training, but paid less attention to experts. Therefore, this study tried to explore the role of spatial ability in manual RVD skills in two groups of trainees, one relatively inexperienced and the other experienced operators. Additionally, mental rotation has been proven essential in RVD and was tested in this study among 27 male participants, 15 novices, and 12 experts. The participants performed manual RVD tasks in a high fidelity simulator. Results showed that experience moderated the relation between mental rotation ability and manual RVD performance. On one hand, novices with high mental rotation ability tended to perform that RVD task more successfully; on the other hand, experts with high mental rotation ability showed not only no performance advantage in the final stage of the RVD task, but had certain disadvantages in their earlier processes. Both theoretical and practical implications were discussed. PMID:26236252

Sharpening coarse-to-fine stereo vision by perceptual learning: asymmetric transfer across the spatial frequency spectrum

PubMed Central

Tran, Truyet T.; Craven, Ashley P.; Leung, Tsz-Wing; Chat, Sandy W.; Levi, Dennis M.

2016-01-01

Neurons in the early visual cortex are finely tuned to different low-level visual features, forming a multi-channel system analysing the visual image formed on the retina in a parallel manner. However, little is known about the potential ‘cross-talk’ among these channels. Here, we systematically investigated whether stereoacuity, over a large range of target spatial frequencies, can be enhanced by perceptual learning. Using narrow-band visual stimuli, we found that practice with coarse (low spatial frequency) targets substantially improves performance, and that the improvement spreads from coarse to fine (high spatial frequency) three-dimensional perception, generalizing broadly across untrained spatial frequencies and orientations. Notably, we observed an asymmetric transfer of learning across the spatial frequency spectrum. The bandwidth of transfer was broader when training was at a high spatial frequency than at a low spatial frequency. Stereoacuity training is most beneficial when trained with fine targets. This broad transfer of stereoacuity learning contrasts with the highly specific learning reported for other basic visual functions. We also revealed strategies to boost learning outcomes ‘beyond-the-plateau’. Our investigations contribute to understanding the functional properties of the network subserving stereovision. The ability to generalize may provide a key principle for restoring impaired binocular vision in clinical situations. PMID:26909178

Measuring working memory capacity in children using adaptive tasks: Example validation of an adaptive complex span.

PubMed

Gonthier, Corentin; Aubry, Alexandre; Bourdin, Béatrice

2018-06-01

Working memory tasks designed for children usually present trials in order of ascending difficulty, with testing discontinued when the child fails a particular level. Unfortunately, this procedure comes with a number of issues, such as decreased engagement from high-ability children, vulnerability of the scores to temporary mind-wandering, and large between-subjects variations in number of trials, testing time, and proactive interference. To circumvent these problems, the goal of the present study was to demonstrate the feasibility of assessing working memory using an adaptive testing procedure. The principle of adaptive testing is to dynamically adjust the level of difficulty as the task progresses to match the participant's ability. We used this method to develop an adaptive complex span task (the ACCES) comprising verbal and visuo-spatial subtests. The task presents a fixed number of trials to all participants, allows for partial credit scoring, and can be used with children regardless of ability level. The ACCES demonstrated satisfying psychometric properties in a sample of 268 children aged 8-13 years, confirming the feasibility of using adaptive tasks to measure working memory capacity in children. A free-to-use implementation of the ACCES is provided.

Enhanced verbal abilities in the congenitally blind.

PubMed

Occelli, Valeria; Lacey, Simon; Stephens, Careese; Merabet, Lotfi B; Sathian, K

2017-06-01

Numerous studies have found that congenitally blind individuals have better verbal memory than their normally sighted counterparts. However, it is not known whether this reflects superiority of verbal or memory abilities. In order to distinguish between these possibilities, we tested congenitally blind participants and normally sighted control participants, matched for age and education, on a range of verbal and spatial tasks. Congenitally blind participants were significantly better than sighted controls on all the verbal tasks but the groups did not differ significantly on the spatial tasks. Thus, the congenitally blind appear to have superior verbal, but not spatial, abilities. This may reflect greater reliance on verbal information and the involvement of visual cortex in language processing in the congenitally blind.

Simulating geriatric home safety assessments in a three-dimensional virtual world.

PubMed

Andrade, Allen D; Cifuentes, Pedro; Mintzer, Michael J; Roos, Bernard A; Anam, Ramanakumar; Ruiz, Jorge G

2012-01-01

Virtual worlds could offer inexpensive and safe three-dimensional environments in which medical trainees can learn to identify home safety hazards. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of virtual worlds for geriatric home safety assessments and to correlate performance efficiency in hazard identification with spatial ability, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and presence. In this study, 30 medical trainees found the home safety simulation easy to use, and their self-efficacy was improved. Men performed better than women in hazard identification. Presence and spatial ability were correlated significantly with performance. Educators should consider spatial ability and gender differences when implementing virtual world training for geriatric home safety assessments.

Children's construction task performance and spatial ability: controlling task complexity and predicting mathematics performance.

PubMed

Richardson, Miles; Hunt, Thomas E; Richardson, Cassandra

2014-12-01

This paper presents a methodology to control construction task complexity and examined the relationships between construction performance and spatial and mathematical abilities in children. The study included three groups of children (N = 96); ages 7-8, 10-11, and 13-14 years. Each group constructed seven pre-specified objects. The study replicated and extended previous findings that indicated that the extent of component symmetry and variety, and the number of components for each object and available for selection, significantly predicted construction task difficulty. Results showed that this methodology is a valid and reliable technique for assessing and predicting construction play task difficulty. Furthermore, construction play performance predicted mathematical attainment independently of spatial ability.

Cartography teaching and the development of spatial thinking in Brazilian geography textbooks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duarte, Ronaldo G.

2018-05-01

Spatial thinking has been recognized as closely related to tools of representation (NRC, 2006) and the maps have been widely pointed out as crucial for the development of that kind of reasoning. Furthermore, the scientific com-munity dedicated to the field of the spatial thinking has been asserting that the abilities encompassed in such a complex cognition can and must be fostered in school. Considering these groundwork, our research focused on the decision to assess the effectiveness of the contribution for the development of student's spatial thinking, provided by the questions found in Brazilian middle school geography textbooks. The main concern was the proficiency regarding cartographic language. To assure the possibility of comparing our results with some other investigations we decided to use a methodology that was strongly based on the Taxonomy of Spatial Thinking, designed by Injeong Jo and Sarah Bednarz (2009). Counting on those powerful tools we analyzed 6.884 questions in the three most adopted geography textbooks sets in Brazilian middle schools (6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grades). For the purpose of enlarging the number of books and countries to be compared, we have also evaluated 2.073 questions that are present in a French geography textbook set edited for the same grades. Using the taxonomy enabled us not only to evaluate if the questions demanded or not the use of the spatial thinking by the students. It also showed us the three general levels of reasoning involved, allowing to discern between low, intermediate and high levels of spatial thinking.

Task-level feedback can explain temporal recruitment of spatially fixed muscle synergies throughout postural perturbations

PubMed Central

Safavynia, Seyed A.

2012-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that complex spatiotemporal patterns of muscle activity can be explained with a low-dimensional set of muscle synergies or M-modes. While it is clear that both spatial and temporal aspects of muscle coordination may be low dimensional, constraints on spatial versus temporal features of muscle coordination likely involve different neural control mechanisms. We hypothesized that the low-dimensional spatial and temporal features of muscle coordination are independent of each other. We further hypothesized that in reactive feedback tasks, spatially fixed muscle coordination patterns—or muscle synergies—are hierarchically recruited via time-varying neural commands based on delayed task-level feedback. We explicitly compared the ability of spatially fixed (SF) versus temporally fixed (TF) muscle synergies to reconstruct the entire time course of muscle activity during postural responses to anterior-posterior support-surface translations. While both SF and TF muscle synergies could account for EMG variability in a postural task, SF muscle synergies produced more consistent and physiologically interpretable results than TF muscle synergies during postural responses to perturbations. Moreover, a majority of SF muscle synergies were consistent in structure when extracted from epochs throughout postural responses. Temporal patterns of SF muscle synergy recruitment were well-reconstructed by delayed feedback of center of mass (CoM) kinematics and reproduced EMG activity of multiple muscles. Consistent with the idea that independent and hierarchical low-dimensional neural control structures define spatial and temporal patterns of muscle activity, our results suggest that CoM kinematics are a task variable used to recruit SF muscle synergies for feedback control of balance. PMID:21957219

Fostering Spatial vs. Metric Understanding in Geometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinach, Barbara M.

2012-01-01

Learning to reason spatially is increasingly recognized as an essential component of geometry education. Generally taken to be the "ability to represent, generate, transform, communicate, document, and reflect on visual information," "spatial reasoning" uses the spatial relationships between objects to form ideas. Spatial thinking takes a variety…

Learning to echolocate in sighted people: a correlational study on attention, working memory and spatial abilities.

PubMed

Ekkel, M R; van Lier, R; Steenbergen, B

2017-03-01

Echolocation can be beneficial for the orientation and mobility of visually impaired people. Research has shown considerable individual differences for acquiring this skill. However, individual characteristics that affect the learning of echolocation are largely unknown. In the present study, we examined individual factors that are likely to affect learning to echolocate: sustained and divided attention, working memory, and spatial abilities. To that aim, sighted participants with normal hearing performed an echolocation task that was adapted from a previously reported size-discrimination task. In line with existing studies, we found large individual differences in echolocation ability. We also found indications that participants were able to improve their echolocation ability. Furthermore, we found a significant positive correlation between improvement in echolocation and sustained and divided attention, as measured in the PASAT. No significant correlations were found with our tests regarding working memory and spatial abilities. These findings may have implications for the development of guidelines for training echolocation that are tailored to the individual with a visual impairment.

Hippocampus-dependent spatial memory impairment due to molar tooth loss is ameliorated by an enriched environment.

PubMed

Kondo, Hiroko; Kurahashi, Minori; Mori, Daisuke; Iinuma, Mitsuo; Tamura, Yasuo; Mizutani, Kenmei; Shimpo, Kan; Sonoda, Shigeru; Azuma, Kagaku; Kubo, Kin-ya

2016-01-01

Teeth are crucial, not only for mastication, but for overall nutrition and general health, including cognitive function. Aged mice with chronic stress due to tooth loss exhibit impaired hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Exposure to an enriched environment restores the reduced hippocampal function. Here, we explored the effects of an enriched environment on learning deficits and hippocampal morphologic changes in aged senescence-accelerated mouse strain P8 (SAMP8) mice with tooth loss. Eight-month-old male aged SAMP8 mice with molar intact or with molars removed were housed in either a standard environment or enriched environment for 3 weeks. The Morris water maze was performed for spatial memory test. The newborn cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation in the hippocampus were analyzed using 5-Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemical method. The hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were also measured. Mice with upper molars removed (molarless) exhibited a significant decline in the proliferation and survival of newborn cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) as well as in hippocampal BDNF levels. In addition, neuronal differentiation of newly generated cells was suppressed and hippocampus-dependent spatial memory was impaired. Exposure of molarless mice to an enriched environment attenuated the reductions in the hippocampal BDNF levels and neuronal differentiation, and partially improved the proliferation and survival of newborn cells, as well as the spatial memory ability. These findings indicated that an enriched environment could ameliorate the hippocampus-dependent spatial memory impairment induced by molar tooth loss. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning your way in a city: experience and gender differences in configurational knowledge of one's environment.

PubMed

De Goede, Maartje; Postma, Albert

2015-01-01

Males tend to outperform females in their knowledge of relative and absolute distances in spatial layouts and environments. It is unclear yet in how far these differences are innate or develop through life. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether gender differences in configurational knowledge for a natural environment might be modulated by experience. In order to examine this possibility, distance as well as directional knowledge of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands was assessed in male and female inhabitants who had different levels of familiarity with this city. Experience affected the ability to solve difficult distance knowledge problems, but only for females. While the quality of the spatial representation of metric distances improved with more experience, this effect was not different for males and females. In contrast directional configurational measures did show a main gender effect but no experience modulation. In general, it seems that we obtain different configurational aspects according to different experiential time schemes. Moreover, the results suggest that experience may be a modulating factor in the occurrence of gender differences in configurational knowledge, though this seems dependent on the type of measurement. It is discussed in how far proficiency in mental rotation ability and spatial working memory accounts for these differences.

Learning your way in a city: experience and gender differences in configurational knowledge of one’s environment

PubMed Central

De Goede, Maartje; Postma, Albert

2015-01-01

Males tend to outperform females in their knowledge of relative and absolute distances in spatial layouts and environments. It is unclear yet in how far these differences are innate or develop through life. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether gender differences in configurational knowledge for a natural environment might be modulated by experience. In order to examine this possibility, distance as well as directional knowledge of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands was assessed in male and female inhabitants who had different levels of familiarity with this city. Experience affected the ability to solve difficult distance knowledge problems, but only for females. While the quality of the spatial representation of metric distances improved with more experience, this effect was not different for males and females. In contrast directional configurational measures did show a main gender effect but no experience modulation. In general, it seems that we obtain different configurational aspects according to different experiential time schemes. Moreover, the results suggest that experience may be a modulating factor in the occurrence of gender differences in configurational knowledge, though this seems dependent on the type of measurement. It is discussed in how far proficiency in mental rotation ability and spatial working memory accounts for these differences. PMID:25914663

Enhancing Allocentric Spatial Recall in Pre-schoolers through Navigational Training Programme

PubMed Central

Boccia, Maddalena; Rosella, Michela; Vecchione, Francesca; Tanzilli, Antonio; Palermo, Liana; D'Amico, Simonetta; Guariglia, Cecilia; Piccardi, Laura

2017-01-01

Unlike for other abilities, children do not receive systematic spatial orientation training at school, even though navigational training during adulthood improves spatial skills. We investigated whether navigational training programme (NTP) improved spatial orientation skills in pre-schoolers. We administered 12-week NTP to seventeen 4- to 5-year-old children (training group, TG). The TG children and 17 age-matched children (control group, CG) who underwent standard didactics were tested twice before (T0) and after (T1) the NTP using tasks that tap into landmark, route and survey representations. We determined that the TG participants significantly improved their performances in the most demanding navigational task, which is the task that taps into survey representation. This improvement was significantly higher than that observed in the CG, suggesting that NTP fostered the acquisition of survey representation. Such representation is typically achieved by age seven. This finding suggests that NTP improves performance on higher-level navigational tasks in pre-schoolers. PMID:29085278

Typograph: Multiscale Spatial Exploration of Text Documents

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Endert, Alexander; Burtner, Edwin R.; Cramer, Nicholas O.

2013-10-06

Visualizing large document collections using a spatial layout of terms can enable quick overviews of information. These visual metaphors (e.g., word clouds, tag clouds, etc.) traditionally show a series of terms organized by space-filling algorithms. However, often lacking in these views is the ability to interactively explore the information to gain more detail, and the location and rendering of the terms are often not based on mathematical models that maintain relative distances from other information based on similarity metrics. In this paper, we present Typograph, a multi-scale spatial exploration visualization for large document collections. Based on the term-based visualization methods,more » Typograh enables multiple levels of detail (terms, phrases, snippets, and full documents) within the single spatialization. Further, the information is placed based on their relative similarity to other information to create the “near = similar” geographic metaphor. This paper discusses the design principles and functionality of Typograph and presents a use case analyzing Wikipedia to demonstrate usage.« less

Visuo–spatial working memory is an important source of domain-general vulnerability in the development of arithmetic cognition

PubMed Central

Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Metcalfe, Arron W.S.; Swigart, Anna G.; Menon, Vinod

2014-01-01

The study of developmental disorders can provide a unique window into the role of domain-general cognitive abilities and neural systems in typical and atypical development. Mathematical disabilities (MD) are characterized by marked difficulty in mathematical cognition in the presence of preserved intelligence and verbal ability. Although studies of MD have most often focused on the role of core deficits in numerical processing, domain-general cognitive abilities, in particular working memory (WM), have also been implicated. Here we identify specific WM components that are impaired in children with MD and then examine their role in arithmetic problem solving. Compared to typically developing (TD) children, the MD group demonstrated lower arithmetic performance and lower visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) scores with preserved abilities on the phonological and central executive components of WM. Whole brain analysis revealed that, during arithmetic problem solving, left posterior parietal cortex, bilateral dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and precuneus, and fusiform gyrus responses were positively correlated with VSWM ability in TD children, but not in the MD group. Additional analyses using a priori posterior parietal cortex regions previously implicated in WM tasks, demonstrated a convergent pattern of results during arithmetic problem solving. These results suggest that MD is characterized by a common locus of arithmetic and VSWM deficits at both the cognitive and functional neuroanatomical levels. Unlike TD children, children with MD do not use VSWM resources appropriately during arithmetic problem solving. This work advances our understanding of VSWM as an important domain-general cognitive process in both typical and atypical mathematical skill development. PMID:23896444

Mathematical Skills in Ninth-graders: Relationship with Visuo-spatial Abilities and Working Memory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reuhkala, Minna

2001-01-01

Investigates the relationship between working memory (WM) capacity (particularly visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM)), the ability to mentally rotate three-dimensional objects, and mathematical skills. Explains that in experiment 1, VSWM was examined; and in experiment 2, contributions of other WM components to mathematical skills was examined.…

Spatial Visualization Ability and Impact of Drafting Models: A Quasi Experimental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros J.; Jovanovic, Vukica

2014-01-01

A quasi experimental study was done to determine significant positive effects among three different types of visual models and to identify whether any individual type or combination contributed towards a positive increase of spatial visualization ability for students in engineering technology courses. In particular, the study compared the use of…

A Study on the Spatial Abilities of Prospective Social Studies Teachers: A Mixed Method Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yurt, Eyüp; Tünkler, Vural

2016-01-01

This study investigated prospective social studies teachers' spatial abilities. It was conducted with 234 prospective teachers attending Social Studies Teaching departments at Education Faculties of two universities in Central and Southern Anatolia. This study, designed according to the explanatory-sequential design, is a mixed research method,…

Fluctuation in Spatial Ability Scores during the Menstrual Cycle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moody, M. Suzanne

Whether or not fluctuations in spatial ability as measured by S. G. Vandenberg's Mental Rotations Test occur during the menstrual cycle was studied with 133 female students from 9 undergraduate educational psychology and nursing classes. For comparison, 28 male students also took the test. Scores from 55 females fell into the relevant menstrual…

Administering Spatial and Cognitive Instruments In-Class and On-Line: Are These Equivalent?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Kenneth C.; Williamson, Vickie M.; Hinze, Scott R.

2017-01-01

Standardized, well-established paper-and-pencil tests, which measure spatial abilities or which measure reasoning abilities, have long been found to be predictive of success in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Instructors can use these tests for prediction of success and to inform instruction. A comparative…

Spatial Training Improves Children's Mathematics Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Yi-Ling; Mix, Kelly S.

2014-01-01

We tested whether mental rotation training improved math performance in 6- to 8-year-olds. Children were pretested on a range of number and math skills. Then one group received a single session of mental rotation training using an object completion task that had previously improved spatial ability in children this age (Ehrlich, Levine, &…

Spatial Training Improves Children's Mathematics Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Yi-Ling; Mix, Kelly S.

2014-01-01

We tested whether mental rotation training improved math performance in 6- to 8-year-olds. Children were pretested on a range of number and math skills. Then one group received a single session of mental rotation training using an object completion task that had previously improved spatial ability in children this age (Ehrlich, Levine, &…

SPATIAL VISUALIZATION ABILITIES OF CENTRAL WASHINGTON STATE COLLEGE PROSPECTIVE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MARTIN, BERNARD LOYAL

INVESTIGATED WAS THE EXTENT TO WHICH STUDENTS COMPLETING PLANNED MATHEMATICS EDUCATION PROGRAMS (1) WERE PROFICIENT IN SPATIAL VISUALIZATION ABILITIES, AND (2) HAD DEVELOPED MATHEMATICAL UNDERSTANDINGS. THE EFFECTS OF THE MATHEMATICS CURRICULA UPON SUCH DEVELOPMENT WERE INVESTIGATED BY COMPARING GROUP MEAN TEST SCORES OF PROSPECTIVE ELEMENTARY AND…

Spatial Ability and the Teaching of Introductory Geometry Through Transformations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maher, Carolyn A.; Normandia, Bruce R.

The study investigated whether (1) instruction providing for experimental manipulation by students was superior to instruction in which teachers perform the manipulations and children observe, and (2) spatial ability was related to mode of instruction. Participating in the 8-week study were 141 students aged 12-15 in seven intact eighth-grade…

A Longitudinal Evaluative Study of Student Difficulties with Engineering Graphics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potter, Charles; Van Der Merwe, Errol; Kaufman, Wendy; Delacour, Julie

2006-01-01

We have previously reported in this journal that spatial ability influences academic performance in engineering. We have also reported that spatial ability is trainable, and can be increased through instruction focused on using perception and mental imagery in three-dimensional representation. In this article, we present the results of a…

Measuring Spatial Ability with a Computer Managed Task.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDaniel, Ernest; And Others

This study presents data augmenting the validity studies of the Wheatley Cube (McDaniel and Kroll, 1984), a computer managed test of spatial visualization. Twenty-one students in pilot training are administered several instruments designed to measure the ability to construct a cognitive three-dimensional space, including: (1) the Wheatley Cube,…

Spatial and numerical abilities without a complete natural language.

PubMed

Hyde, Daniel C; Winkler-Rhoades, Nathan; Lee, Sang-Ah; Izard, Veronique; Shapiro, Kevin A; Spelke, Elizabeth S

2011-04-01

We studied the cognitive abilities of a 13-year-old deaf child, deprived of most linguistic input from late infancy, in a battery of tests designed to reveal the nature of numerical and geometrical abilities in the absence of a full linguistic system. Tests revealed widespread proficiency in basic symbolic and non-symbolic numerical computations involving the use of both exact and approximate numbers. Tests of spatial and geometrical abilities revealed an interesting patchwork of age-typical strengths and localized deficits. In particular, the child performed extremely well on navigation tasks involving geometrical or landmark information presented in isolation, but very poorly on otherwise similar tasks that required the combination of the two types of spatial information. Tests of number- and space-specific language revealed proficiency in the use of number words and deficits in the use of spatial terms. This case suggests that a full linguistic system is not necessary to reap the benefits of linguistic vocabulary on basic numerical tasks. Furthermore, it suggests that language plays an important role in the combination of mental representations of space. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disentangling the Contribution of Spatial Reference Frames to Executive Functioning in Healthy and Pathological Aging: An Experimental Study with Virtual Reality.

PubMed

Serino, Silvia; Morganti, Francesca; Colombo, Desirée; Pedroli, Elisa; Cipresso, Pietro; Riva, Giuseppe

2018-06-01

A growing body of evidence pointed out that a decline in effectively using spatial reference frames for categorizing information occurs both in normal and pathological aging. Moreover, it is also known that executive deficits primarily characterize the cognitive profile of older individuals. Acknowledging this literature, the current study was aimed to specifically disentangle the contribution of the cognitive abilities related to the use of spatial reference frames to executive functioning in both healthy and pathological aging. 48 healthy elderly individuals and 52 elderly suffering from probable Alzheimer's Disease (AD) took part in the study. We exploited the potentiality of Virtual Reality to specifically measure the abilities in retrieving and syncing between different spatial reference frames, and then we administrated different neuropsychological tests for evaluating executive functions. Our results indicated that allocentric functions contributed significantly to the planning abilities, while syncing abilities influenced the attentional ones. The findings were discussed in terms of previous literature exploring relationships between cognitive deficits in the first phase of AD.

The use of geospatial technologies to increase students' spatial abilities and knowledge of certain atmospheric science content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hedley, Mikell Lynne

2008-10-01

The purpose of the study was to use geospatial technologies to improve the spatial abilities and specific atmospheric science content knowledge of students in high schools and junior highs in primarily high-needs schools. These technologies include remote sensing, geographic information systems, and global positioning systems. The program involved training the teachers in the use of the technologies at a five-day institute. Scientists who use the technologies in their research taught the basics of their use and scientific background. Standards-based activities were used to integrate the technologies in the classroom setting. Students were tested before any instruction in the technologies and then tested two other times. They used the technologies in field data collection and used that data in an inquiry-based project. Their projects were presented at a mini-science conference with scientists, teachers, parents, and other students in attendance. Significant differences were noted from pre-test to second post-test in the test in both the spatial abilities and science section. There was a gain in both spatial abilities and in specific atmospheric science content knowledge.

Long-term memory for verbal and visual information in Down syndrome and Williams syndrome: performance on the Doors and People test.

PubMed

Jarrold, Christopher; Baddeley, Alan D; Phillips, Caroline

2007-02-01

Previous studies have suggested that Williams syndrome and Down syndrome may be associated with specific short-term memory deficits. Individuals with Williams syndrome perform relatively poorly on tests of visuo-spatial short-term memory and individuals with Down syndrome show a relative deficit on verbal short-term memory tasks. However, these patterns of impairments may reflect the impact of generally impaired visuo-spatial processing skills in Williams syndrome, and verbal abilities in Down syndrome. The current study explored this possibility by assessing long-term memory among 15 individuals with Williams syndrome and 20 individuals with Down syndrome using the Doors and People test, a battery which assesses recall and recognition of verbal and visual information. Individuals' performance was standardised for age and level of intellectual ability with reference to that shown by a sample of 110 typically developing children. The results showed that individuals with Down syndrome have no differential deficits in long-term memory for verbal information, implying that verbal short-term memory deficits in this population are relatively selective. Instead both individuals with Down syndrome and with Williams syndrome showed some evidence of relatively poor performance on tests of long-term memory for visual information. It is therefore possible that visuo-spatial short-term memory deficits that have previously been demonstrated in Williams syndrome may be secondary to more general problems in visuo-spatial processing in this population.

Mathematics skills in good readers with hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Barnes, Marcia A; Pengelly, Sarah; Dennis, Maureen; Wilkinson, Margaret; Rogers, Tracey; Faulkner, Heather

2002-01-01

Children with hydrocephalus have poor math skills. We investigated the nature of their arithmetic computation errors by comparing written subtraction errors in good readers with hydrocephalus, typically developing good readers of the same age, and younger children matched for math level to the children with hydrocephalus. Children with hydrocephalus made more procedural errors (although not more fact retrieval or visual-spatial errors) than age-matched controls; they made the same number of procedural errors as younger, math-level matched children. We also investigated a broad range of math abilities, and found that children with hydrocephalus performed more poorly than age-matched controls on tests of geometry and applied math skills such as estimation and problem solving. Computation deficits in children with hydrocephalus reflect delayed development of procedural knowledge. Problems in specific math domains such as geometry and applied math, were associated with deficits in constituent cognitive skills such as visual spatial competence, memory, and general knowledge.

Attention: oscillations and neuropharmacology.

PubMed

Deco, Gustavo; Thiele, Alexander

2009-08-01

Attention is a rich psychological and neurobiological construct that influences almost all aspects of cognitive behaviour. It enables enhanced processing of behaviourally relevant stimuli at the expense of irrelevant stimuli. At the cellular level, rhythmic synchronization at local and long-range spatial scales complements the attention-induced firing rate changes of neurons. The former is hypothesized to enable efficient communication between neuronal ensembles tuned to spatial and featural aspects of the attended stimulus. Recent modelling studies suggest that the rhythmic synchronization in the gamma range may be mediated by a fine balance between N-methyl-D-aspartate and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate postsynaptic currents, whereas other studies have highlighted the possible contribution of the neuromodulator acetylcholine. This review summarizes some recent modelling and experimental studies investigating mechanisms of attention in sensory areas and discusses possibilities of how glutamatergic and cholinergic systems could contribute to increased processing abilities at the cellular and network level during states of top-down attention.

Practice of aerobic sports is associated with better spatial memory in adults and older men.

PubMed

Sánchez-Horcajo, Rubén; Llamas-Alonso, Juan; Cimadevilla, José Manuel

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Cognitive abilities experience diverse age-related changes. Memory complaints are common in aging. The practice of sports is known to benefit brain functioning, improving memory among other abilities. Introduction of virtual reality tasks makes it possible to easily assess cognitive functions such as spatial memory, a hippocampus-dependent cognitive ability. In this study, the authors applied a virtual reality-based task to study spatial reference memory in two groups of men, sportsmen (n=28) and sedentary (n=28), across three different age groups: 50-59, 60-69, and 70-77 years. The data showed that sportsmen outperformed sedentary participants. In addition, there was also a significant effect of the factor age. Hence, older men (70-77 years old) displayed a poorer performance in comparison with the other age groups. These results support the beneficial effect of habitual physical activity in spatial memory.

Visual- spatial capacity: gender and sport differences in young volleyball and tennis athletes and non-athletes.

PubMed

Notarnicola, Angela; Maccagnano, Giuseppe; Pesce, Vito; Tafuri, Silvio; Novielli, Grazia; Moretti, Biagio

2014-01-21

In the general population visual-spatial ability is better in males, due to the influence of biological and socio-cultural factors. We know that sport activity improves motor skills. The aim of this work is to determine if these gender differences exist in young athletes. The orientation test described by Terzi and standardized by Cesaroni, used to measure spatial ability, was carried out on 60 volleyball or 60 tennis athletes as well as on 60 non-sporting subjects. The data analysis revealed a worse performance for non-athletes in comparison with athletes in both components of test (p < 0.0001; p = 0.04), with no differences between the volleyball and tennis groups. As far as gender comparison is concerned, as expected in the non- sport group the males presented better values (p < 0.001; p = 0.006). However in both sports groups there weren't any gender differences in either part of the test (p = 0.18; p = 0.056). These results confirm that during athletic preparation in volleyball and tennis the specific training is able to develop spatial ability. Besides, boys and girls have similar performance demands and training experience. It appears that this specific training could be responsible for modifying gender differences in performance of spatial ability during adolescence.

The Structure of Working Memory Abilities across the Adult Life Span

PubMed Central

Hale, Sandra; Rose, Nathan S.; Myerson, Joel; Strube, Michael J; Sommers, Mitchell; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Spehar, Brent

2010-01-01

The present study addresses three questions regarding age differences in working memory: (1) whether performance on complex span tasks decreases as a function of age at a faster rate than performance on simple span tasks; (2) whether spatial working memory decreases at a faster rate than verbal working memory; and (3) whether the structure of working memory abilities is different for different age groups. Adults, ages 20–89 (n=388), performed three simple and three complex verbal span tasks and three simple and three complex spatial memory tasks. Performance on the spatial tasks decreased at faster rates as a function of age than performance on the verbal tasks, but within each domain, performance on complex and simple span tasks decreased at the same rates. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that domain-differentiated models yielded better fits than models involving domain-general constructs, providing further evidence of the need to distinguish verbal and spatial working memory abilities. Regardless of which domain-differentiated model was examined, and despite the faster rates of decrease in the spatial domain, age group comparisons revealed that the factor structure of working memory abilities was highly similar in younger and older adults and showed no evidence of age-related dedifferentiation. PMID:21299306

Graphic Abilities in Relation to Mathematical and Scientific Ability in Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stavridou, Fotini; Kakana, Domna

2008-01-01

Background: The study investigated a small range of cognitive abilities, related to visual-spatial intelligence, in adolescents. This specific range of cognitive abilities was termed "graphic abilities" and defined as a range of abilities to visualise and think in three dimensions, originating in the domain of visual-spatial…

Toward critical spatial thinking in the social sciences and humanities.

PubMed

Goodchild, Michael F; Janelle, Donald G

2010-02-01

The integration of geographically referenced information into the conceptual frameworks and applied uses of the social sciences and humanities has been an ongoing process over the past few centuries. It has gained momentum in recent decades with advances in technologies for computation and visualization and with the arrival of new data sources. This article begins with an overview of this transition, and argues that the spatial integration of information resources and the cross-disciplinary sharing of analysis and representation methodologies are important forces for the integration of scientific and artistic expression, and that they draw on core concepts in spatial (and spatio-temporal) thinking. We do not suggest that this is akin to prior concepts of unified knowledge systems, but we do maintain that the boundaries to knowledge transfer are disintegrating and that our abilities in problem solving for purposes of artistic expression and scientific development are enhanced through spatial perspectives. Moreover, approaches to education at all levels must recognize the need to impart proficiency in the critical and efficient application of these fundamental spatial concepts, if students and researchers are to make use of expanding access to a broadening range of spatialized information and data processing technologies.

Story retelling and language ability in school-aged children with cerebral palsy and speech impairment.

PubMed

Nordberg, Ann; Dahlgren Sandberg, Annika; Miniscalco, Carmela

2015-01-01

Research on retelling ability and cognition is limited in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and speech impairment. To explore the impact of expressive and receptive language, narrative discourse dimensions (Narrative Assessment Profile measures), auditory and visual memory, theory of mind (ToM) and non-verbal cognition on the retelling ability of children with CP and speech impairment. Fifteen speaking children with speech impairment (seven girls, eight boys) (mean age = 11 years, SD = 1;4 years), and different types of CP and different levels of gross motor and cognitive function participated in the present study. Story retelling skills were tested and analysed with the Bus Story Test (BST) and the Narrative Assessment Profile (NAP). Receptive language ability was tested with the Test for Reception of Grammar-2 (TROG-2) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - IV (PPVT-IV). Non-verbal cognitive level was tested with the Raven's coloured progressive matrices (RCPM), memory functions assessed with the Corsi block-tapping task (CB) and the Digit Span from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. ToM was assessed with the false belief items of the two story tests "Kiki and the Cat" and "Birthday Puppy". The children had severe problems with retelling ability corresponding to an age-equivalent of 5;2-6;9 years. Receptive and expressive language, visuo-spatial and auditory memory, non-verbal cognitive level and ToM varied widely within and among the children. Both expressive and receptive language correlated significantly with narrative ability in terms of NAP total scores, so did auditory memory. The results suggest that retelling ability in the children with CP in the present study is dependent on language comprehension and production, and memory functions. Consequently, it is important to examine retelling ability together with language and cognitive abilities in these children in order to provide appropriate support. © 2015 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Differential Effect of Plant Lipids on Membrane Organization

PubMed Central

Grosjean, Kevin; Mongrand, Sébastien; Beney, Laurent; Simon-Plas, Françoise; Gerbeau-Pissot, Patricia

2015-01-01

The high diversity of the plant lipid mixture raises the question of their respective involvement in the definition of membrane organization. This is particularly the case for plant plasma membrane, which is enriched in specific lipids, such as free and conjugated forms of phytosterols and typical phytosphingolipids, such as glycosylinositolphosphoceramides. This question was here addressed extensively by characterizing the order level of membrane from vesicles prepared using various plant lipid mixtures and labeled with an environment-sensitive probe. Fluorescence spectroscopy experiments showed that among major phytosterols, campesterol exhibits a stronger ability than β-sitosterol and stigmasterol to order model membranes. Multispectral confocal microscopy, allowing spatial analysis of membrane organization, demonstrated accordingly the strong ability of campesterol to promote ordered domain formation and to organize their spatial distribution at the membrane surface. Conjugated sterol forms, alone and in synergy with free sterols, exhibit a striking ability to order membrane. Plant sphingolipids, particularly glycosylinositolphosphoceramides, enhanced the sterol-induced ordering effect, emphasizing the formation and increasing the size of sterol-dependent ordered domains. Altogether, our results support a differential involvement of free and conjugated phytosterols in the formation of ordered domains and suggest that the diversity of plant lipids, allowing various local combinations of lipid species, could be a major contributor to membrane organization in particular through the formation of sphingolipid-sterol interacting domains. PMID:25575593

A neuropsychologic profile of homosexual and heterosexual men and women.

PubMed

Wegesin, D J

1998-02-01

To examine the applicability of psychosexual differentiation theory to the development of sexual orientation, heterosexual (HT) women, HT men, lesbians, and gay men (20 per group) completed a lexical-decision/semantic monitoring task (LD/SM) to assess verbal ability, as well as a Water Level Task (WLT) and two Mental Rotation (MR) Tasks designed to assess spatial ability. All tests have been shown to differentiate HT men and women. Results replicated previously reported sex differences between the HT men and women. Further, gay men performed akin to HT women on the verbal task and the MR tasks, but not in the WLT. Lesbians, however, primarily performed in a sex-typical manner. The dissociation in sex-atypicality between lesbians and gay men is discussed in relation to neurobiological factors related to the development of both sex-dimorphic cognitive ability and sexual orientation.

Individual differences in brain activity during visuo-spatial processing assessed by slow cortical potentials and LORETA.

PubMed

Lamm, Claus; Fischmeister, Florian Ph S; Bauer, Herbert

2005-12-01

Using slow-cortical potentials (SCPs), Vitouch et al. demonstrated that subjects with low ability to solve a complex visuo-spatial imagery task show higher activity in occipital, parietal and frontal cortex during task processing than subjects with high ability. This finding has been interpreted in the sense of the so-called "neural efficiency" hypothesis, which assumes that the central nervous system of individuals with higher intellectual abilities is functioning in a more efficient way than the one of individuals with lower abilities. Using a higher spatial resolution of SCP recordings, and by employing the source localization method of LORETA (low-resolution electromagnetic tomography), we investigated this hypothesis by performing an extended replication of Vitouch et al.'s study. SCPs during processing of a visuo-spatial imagery task were recorded in pre-selected subjects with either high or low abilities in solving the imagery task. Topographic and LORETA analyses of SCPs revealed that a distributed network of extrastriate occipital, superior parietal, temporal, medial frontal and prefrontal areas was active during task solving. This network is well in line with former studies of the functional neuroanatomy of visuo-spatial imagery. Contrary to our expectations, however, the results of Vitouch et al. as well as of other studies supporting the neural efficiency hypothesis could not be confirmed since no difference in brain activity between groups was observed. This inconsistency between studies might be due to differing task processing strategies. While subjects with high abilities in the Vitouch et al. study seemed to use a visuo-perceptual task solving approach, all other subjects relied upon a visuo-motor task processing strategy.

Atomic-Scale Nuclear Spin Imaging Using Quantum-Assisted Sensors in Diamond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajoy, A.; Bissbort, U.; Lukin, M. D.; Walsworth, R. L.; Cappellaro, P.

2015-01-01

Nuclear spin imaging at the atomic level is essential for the understanding of fundamental biological phenomena and for applications such as drug discovery. The advent of novel nanoscale sensors promises to achieve the long-standing goal of single-protein, high spatial-resolution structure determination under ambient conditions. In particular, quantum sensors based on the spin-dependent photoluminescence of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have recently been used to detect nanoscale ensembles of external nuclear spins. While NV sensitivity is approaching single-spin levels, extracting relevant information from a very complex structure is a further challenge since it requires not only the ability to sense the magnetic field of an isolated nuclear spin but also to achieve atomic-scale spatial resolution. Here, we propose a method that, by exploiting the coupling of the NV center to an intrinsic quantum memory associated with the nitrogen nuclear spin, can reach a tenfold improvement in spatial resolution, down to atomic scales. The spatial resolution enhancement is achieved through coherent control of the sensor spin, which creates a dynamic frequency filter selecting only a few nuclear spins at a time. We propose and analyze a protocol that would allow not only sensing individual spins in a complex biomolecule, but also unraveling couplings among them, thus elucidating local characteristics of the molecule structure.

Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and physical space in anorexia nervosa: a virtual reality and repertory grid investigation.

PubMed

Cipolletta, Sabrina; Malighetti, Clelia; Serino, Silvia; Riva, Giuseppe; Winter, David

2017-06-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterized by severe body image disturbances. Recent studies from spatial cognition showed a connection between the experience of body and of space. The objectives of this study were to explore the meanings that characterize AN experience and to deepen the examination of spatiality in relational terms, through the study of how the patient construes herself and her interpersonal world. More specifically this study aimed (1) to verify whether spatial variables and aspects of construing differentiate patients with AN and healthy controls (HCs) and are related to severity of anorexic symptomatology; (2) to explore correlations between impairments in spatial abilities and interpersonal construing. A sample of 12 AN patients and 12 HCs participated in the study. The Eating Disorder Inventory, a virtual reality-based procedure, traditional measures of spatial abilities, and repertory grids were administered. The AN group compared to HCs showed significant impairments in spatial abilities, more unidimensional construing, and more extreme construing of the present self and of the self as seen by others. All these dimensions correlated with the severity of symptomatology. Extreme ways of construing characterized individuals with AN and might represent the interpersonal aspect of impairment in spatial reference frames. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

ThinkSpace: Spatial Thinking in Middle School Astronomy Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udomprasert, Patricia S.; Goodman, Alyssa A.; Plummer, Julia; Sadler, Philip M.; Johnson, Erin; Sunbury, Susan; Zhang, Helen; Dussault, Mary E.

2016-01-01

Critical breakthroughs in science (e.g., Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, and Watson & Crick's discovery of the structure of DNA), originated with those scientists' ability to think spatially, and research has shown that spatial ability correlates strongly with likelihood of entering a career in STEM. Mounting evidence also shows that spatial skills are malleable, i.e., they can be improved through training. We report early work from a new project that will build on this research to create a series of middle schools science labs called "Thinking Spatially about the Universe" (ThinkSpace), in which students will use a blend of physical and virtual models (in WorldWide Telescope) to explore complex 3-dimensional phenomena in space science. In the three-year ThinkSpace labs project, astronomers, technologists, and education researchers are collaborating to create and test a suite of three labs designed to improve learners' spatial abilities through studies of: 1) Moon phases and eclipses; 2) planetary systems around stars other than the Sun; and 3.) celestial motions within the broader universe. The research program will determine which elements in the labs will best promote improvement of spatial skills within activities that emphasize disciplinary core ideas; and how best to optimize interactive dynamic visualizations to maximize student understanding.

Pharmacological evidence is consistent with a prominent role of spatial memory in complex navigation

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

The ability to learn about the spatial environment plays an important role in navigation, migration, dispersal, and foraging. However, our understanding of both the role of cognition in the development of navigation strategies and the mechanisms underlying these strategies is limited. We tested the hypothesis that complex navigation is facilitated by spatial memory in a population of Chrysemys picta that navigate with extreme precision (±3.5 m) using specific routes that must be learned prior to age three. We used scopolamine, a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, to manipulate the cognitive spatial abilities of free-living turtles during naturally occurring overland movements. Experienced adults treated with scopolamine diverted markedly from their precise navigation routes. Naive juveniles lacking experience (and memory) were not affected by scopolamine, and thereby served as controls for perceptual or non-spatial cognitive processes associated with navigation. Further, neither adult nor juvenile movement was affected by methylscopolamine, a form of scopolamine that does not cross the blood–brain barrier, a control for the peripheral effects of scopolamine. Together, these results are consistent with a role of spatial cognition in complex navigation and highlight a cellular mechanism that might underlie spatial cognition. Overall, our findings expand our understanding of the development of complex cognitive abilities of vertebrates and the neurological mechanisms of navigation. PMID:26865305

Effects of configural processing on the perceptual spatial resolution for face features.

PubMed

Namdar, Gal; Avidan, Galia; Ganel, Tzvi

2015-11-01

Configural processing governs human perception across various domains, including face perception. An established marker of configural face perception is the face inversion effect, in which performance is typically better for upright compared to inverted faces. In two experiments, we tested whether configural processing could influence basic visual abilities such as perceptual spatial resolution (i.e., the ability to detect spatial visual changes). Face-related perceptual spatial resolution was assessed by measuring the just noticeable difference (JND) to subtle positional changes between specific features in upright and inverted faces. The results revealed robust inversion effect for spatial sensitivity to configural-based changes, such as the distance between the mouth and the nose, or the distance between the eyes and the nose. Critically, spatial resolution for face features within the region of the eyes (e.g., the interocular distance between the eyes) was not affected by inversion, suggesting that the eye region operates as a separate 'gestalt' unit which is relatively immune to manipulations that would normally hamper configural processing. Together these findings suggest that face orientation modulates fundamental psychophysical abilities including spatial resolution. Furthermore, they indicate that classic psychophysical methods can be used as a valid measure of configural face processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impairments in Precision, Rather than Spatial Strategy, Characterize Performance on the Virtual Morris Water Maze: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Kolarik, Branden S.; Shahlaie, Kiarash; Hassan, Abdul; Borders, Alyssa A.; Kaufman, Kyle C.; Gurkoff, Gene; Yonelinas, Andy P.; Ekstrom, Arne D.

2015-01-01

Damage to the medial temporal lobes produces profound amnesia, greatly impairing the ability of patients to learn about new associations and events. While studies in rodents suggest a strong link between damage to the hippocampus and the ability to navigate using distal landmarks in a spatial environment, the connection between navigation and memory in humans remains less clear. Past studies on human navigation have provided mixed findings about whether patients with damage to the medial temporal lobes can successfully acquire and navigate new spatial environments, possibly due, in part, to issues related to patient demographics and characterization of medial temporal lobe damage. Here, we report findings from a young, high functioning patient who suffered severe medial temporal lobe damage. Although the patient is densely amnestic, her ability to acquire and utilize new, but coarse, spatial “maps” appears largely intact. Specifically, a novel computational analysis focused on the precision of her spatial search revealed a significant deficit in spatial precision rather than spatial search strategy. These findings argue that an intact hippocampus in humans is not necessary for representing multiple external landmarks during spatial navigation of new environments. We suggest instead that the human hippocampus may store and represent complex high-resolution bindings of features in the environment as part of a larger role in perception, memory, and navigation. PMID:26593960

Selective deficit in spatial memory strategies contrast to intact response strategies in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders tested in a virtual navigation task.

PubMed

Wilkins, Leanne K; Girard, Todd A; Konishi, Kyoko; King, Matthew; Herdman, Katherine A; King, Jelena; Christensen, Bruce; Bohbot, Veronique D

2013-11-01

Spatial memory is impaired among persons with schizophrenia (SCZ). However, different strategies may be used to solve most spatial memory and navigation tasks. This study investigated the hypothesis that participants with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) would demonstrate differential impairment during acquisition and retrieval of target locations when using a hippocampal-dependent spatial strategy, but not a response strategy, which is more associated with caudate function. Healthy control (CON) and SSD participants were tested using the 4-on-8 virtual maze (4/8VM), a virtual navigation task designed to differentiate between participants' use of spatial and response strategies. Consistent with our predictions, SSD participants demonstrated a differential deficit such that those who navigated using a spatial strategy made more errors and took longer to locate targets. In contrast, SSD participants who spontaneously used a response strategy performed as well as CON participants. The differential pattern of spatial-memory impairment in SSD provides only indirect support for underlying hippocampal dysfunction. These findings emphasize the importance of considering individual strategies when investigating SSD-related memory and navigation performance. Future cognitive intervention protocols may harness SSD participants' intact ability to navigate using a response strategy and/or train the deficient ability to navigate using a spatial strategy to improve navigation and memory abilities in participants with SSD. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Global, broad, or specific cognitive differences? Using a MIMIC model to examine differences in CHC abilities in children with learning disabilities.

PubMed

Niileksela, Christopher R; Reynolds, Matthew R

2014-01-01

This study was designed to better understand the relations between learning disabilities and different levels of latent cognitive abilities, including general intelligence (g), broad cognitive abilities, and specific abilities based on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of intelligence (CHC theory). Data from the Differential Ability Scales-Second Edition (DAS-II) were used to create a multiple-indicator multiple cause model to examine the latent mean differences in cognitive abilities between children with and without learning disabilities in reading (LD reading), math (LD math), and reading and writing(LD reading and writing). Statistically significant differences were found in the g factor between the norm group and the LD groups. After controlling for differences in g, the LD reading and LD reading and writing groups showed relatively lower latent processing speed, and the LD math group showed relatively higher latent comprehension-knowledge. There were also some differences in some specific cognitive abilities, including lower scores in spatial relations and numerical facility for the LD math group, and lower scores in visual memory for the LD reading and writing group. These specific mean differences were above and beyond any differences in the latent cognitive factor means.

Seeking Information Online: The Influence of Menu Type, Navigation Path Complexity and Spatial Ability on Information Gathering Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puerta Melguizo, Mari Carmen; Vidya, Uti; van Oostendorp, Herre

2012-01-01

We studied the effects of menu type, navigation path complexity and spatial ability on information retrieval performance and web disorientation or lostness. Two innovative aspects were included: (a) navigation path relevance and (b) information gathering tasks. As expected we found that, when measuring aspects directly related to navigation…

Integrating Geospatial Technologies in Fifth-Grade Curriculum: Impact on Spatial Ability and Map-Analysis Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jadallah, May; Hund, Alycia M.; Thayn, Jonathan; Studebaker, Joel Garth; Roman, Zachary J.; Kirby, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

This study explores the effects of geographic information systems (GIS) curriculum on fifth-grade students' spatial ability and map-analysis skills. A total of 174 students from an urban public school district and their teachers participated in a quasi-experimental design study. Four teachers implemented a GIS curriculum in experimental classes…

The Relationship between Utilization of Computer Games and Spatial Abilities among High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Motamedi, Vahid; Yaghoubi, Razeyah Mohagheghyan

2015-01-01

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between computer game use and spatial abilities among high school students. The sample consisted of 300 high school male students selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. Data gathering tools consisted of a researcher made questionnaire (to collect information on computer game usage) and the…

A Qualitative Study Examining the Spatial Ability Phenomenon from the Chinese Student Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kang, Helen W.; Mohler, James L.; Choi, Soyoung; Chen, Yuehua; Zheng, Chunhui

2011-01-01

The authors used holistic and structured interviews to examine Chinese student perspectives on their own spatial ability. The results of this study were compared and contrast with a previous study that was conducted by Mohler (2008) of Caucasian student perspectives in United States. Findings of the current study agree with other literature that…

Working Memory and Strategy Use Contribute to Gender Differences in Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lu; Carr, Martha

2014-01-01

In this review, a new model that is grounded in information-processing theory is proposed to account for gender differences in spatial ability. The proposed model assumes that the relative strength of working memory, as expressed by the ratio of visuospatial working memory to verbal working memory, influences the type of strategies used on spatial…

Development of the Spatial Ability Test for Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yildiz, Sevda Göktepe; Özdemir, Ahmet Sükrü

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a test to determine spatial ability of middle school students. The participants were 704 middle school students (6th, 7th and 8th grade) who were studying at different schools from Istanbul. Item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis were used to analyse the data.…

Reflecting on Classroom Practice: Spatial Reasoning and Simple Coding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Alessandra

2015-01-01

Spatial reasoning--the ability to visualise and play with shapes in one's mind--is essential in many fields, and crucial in any Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics [STEM] discipline. It is, for example, the ability that the engineer needs to build bridges; the chemist to see the three-dimensional structure of a molecule; the architect to…

Investigating the Effect of Origami Instruction on Preservice Teachers' Spatial Ability and Geometric Knowledge for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akayuure, Peter; Asiedu-Addo, S. K.; Alebna, Victor

2016-01-01

Whereas origami is said to have pedagogical benefits in geometry education, research is inclusive about its effect on spatial ability and geometric knowledge among preservice teachers. The study investigated the effect of origami instruction on these aspects using pretest posttest quasi-experiment design. The experimental group consisted of 52…

Prestimulus oscillatory activity in the alpha band predicts visual discrimination ability.

PubMed

van Dijk, Hanneke; Schoffelen, Jan-Mathijs; Oostenveld, Robert; Jensen, Ole

2008-02-20

Although the resting and baseline states of the human electroencephalogram and magnetoencephalogram (MEG) are dominated by oscillations in the alpha band (approximately 10 Hz), the functional role of these oscillations remains unclear. In this study we used MEG to investigate how spontaneous oscillations in humans presented before visual stimuli modulate visual perception. Subjects had to report if there was a subtle difference in gray levels between two superimposed presented discs. We then compared the prestimulus brain activity for correctly (hits) versus incorrectly (misses) identified stimuli. We found that visual discrimination ability decreased with an increase in prestimulus alpha power. Given that reaction times did not vary systematically with prestimulus alpha power changes in vigilance are not likely to explain the change in discrimination ability. Source reconstruction using spatial filters allowed us to identify the brain areas accounting for this effect. The dominant sources modulating visual perception were localized around the parieto-occipital sulcus. We suggest that the parieto-occipital alpha power reflects functional inhibition imposed by higher level areas, which serves to modulate the gain of the visual stream.

The influence of test mode and visuospatial ability on mathematics assessment performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Logan, Tracy

2015-12-01

Mathematics assessment and testing are increasingly situated within digital environments with international tests moving to computer-based testing in the near future. This paper reports on a secondary data analysis which explored the influence the mode of assessment—computer-based (CBT) and pencil-and-paper based (PPT)—and visuospatial ability had on students' mathematics test performance. Data from 804 grade 6 Singaporean students were analysed using the knowledge discovery in data design. The results revealed statistically significant differences between performance on CBT and PPT test modes across content areas concerning whole number algebraic patterns and data and chance. However, there were no performance differences for content areas related to spatial arrangements geometric measurement or other number. There were also statistically significant differences in performance between those students who possess higher levels of visuospatial ability compared to those with lower levels across all six content areas. Implications include careful consideration for the comparability of CBT and PPT testing and the need for increased attention to the role of visuospatial reasoning in student's mathematics reasoning.

Understanding Language, Hearing Status, and Visual-Spatial Skills.

PubMed

Marschark, Marc; Spencer, Linda J; Durkin, Andreana; Borgna, Georgianna; Convertino, Carol; Machmer, Elizabeth; Kronenberger, William G; Trani, Alexandra

2015-10-01

It is frequently assumed that deaf individuals have superior visual-spatial abilities relative to hearing peers and thus, in educational settings, they are often considered visual learners. There is some empirical evidence to support the former assumption, although it is inconsistent, and apparently none to support the latter. Three experiments examined visual-spatial and related cognitive abilities among deaf individuals who varied in their preferred language modality and use of cochlear implants (CIs) and hearing individuals who varied in their sign language skills. Sign language and spoken language assessments accompanied tasks involving visual-spatial processing, working memory, nonverbal logical reasoning, and executive function. Results were consistent with other recent studies indicating no generalized visual-spatial advantage for deaf individuals and suggested that their performance in that domain may be linked to the strength of their preferred language skills regardless of modality. Hearing individuals performed more strongly than deaf individuals on several visual-spatial and self-reported executive functioning measures, regardless of sign language skills or use of CIs. Findings are inconsistent with assumptions that deaf individuals are visual learners or are superior to hearing individuals across a broad range of visual-spatial tasks. Further, performance of deaf and hearing individuals on the same visual-spatial tasks was associated with differing cognitive abilities, suggesting that different cognitive processes may be involved in visual-spatial processing in these groups. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Enhanced Verbal Abilities in The Congenitally Blind

PubMed Central

Occelli, Valeria; Lacey, Simon; Stephens, Careese; Merabet, Lotfi B.; Sathian, K.

2017-01-01

Numerous studies have found that congenitally blind individuals have better verbal memory than their normally sighted counterparts. However, it is not known whether this reflects superiority of verbal or memory abilities. In order to distinguish between these possibilities, we tested congenitally blind participants and normally sighted control participants, matched for age and education, on a range of verbal and spatial tasks. Congenitally blind participants were significantly better than sighted controls on all the verbal tasks but the groups did not differ significantly on the spatial tasks. Thus, the congenitally blind appear to have superior verbal, but not spatial, abilities. This may reflect greater reliance on verbal information and the involvement of visual cortex in language processing in the congenitally blind. PMID:28280879

Spatial Experiences of High Academic Achievers: Insights from a Developmental Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weckbacher, Lisa Marie; Okamoto, Yukari

2012-01-01

The study explored the relationship between types of spatial experiences and spatial abilities among 13- to 14-year-old high academic achievers. Each participant completed two spatial tasks and a survey assessing favored spatial activities across five categories (computers, toys, sports, music, and art) and three developmental periods (early…

Baseflow physical characteristics differ at multiple spatial scales in stream networks across diverse biomes

Treesearch

Janine Ruegg; Walter K. Dodds; Melinda D. Daniels; Ken R. Sheehan; Christina L. Baker; William B. Bowden; Kaitlin J. Farrell; Michael B. Flinn; Tamara K. Harms; Jeremy B. Jones; Lauren E. Koenig; John S. Kominoski; William H. McDowell; Samuel P. Parker; Amy D. Rosemond; Matt T. Trentman; Matt Whiles; Wilfred M. Wollheim

2016-01-01

ContextSpatial scaling of ecological processes is facilitated by quantifying underlying habitat attributes. Physical and ecological patterns are often measured at disparate spatial scales limiting our ability to quantify ecological processes at broader spatial scales using physical attributes.

Rural Poverty Dynamics and Refugee Communities in South Africa: A Spatial-Temporal Model.

PubMed

Sartorius, Kurt; Sartorius, Benn; Tollman, Stephen; Schatz, Enid; Kirsten, Johann; Collinson, Mark

2013-01-01

The assimilation of refugees into their host community economic structures is often problematic. The paper investigates the ability of refugees in rural South Africa to accumulate assets over time relative to their host community. Bayesian spatial-temporal modelling was employed to analyse a longitudinal database that indicated that the asset accumulation rate of former Mozambican refugee households was similar to their host community; however, they were unable to close the wealth gap. A series of geo-statistical wealth maps illustrate that there is a spatial element to the higher levels of absolute poverty in the former refugee villages. The primary reason for this is their physical location in drier conditions that are established further away from facilities and infrastructure. Neighbouring South African villages in close proximity, however, display lower levels of absolute poverty, suggesting that the spatial location of the refugees only partially explains their disadvantaged situation. In this regard, the results indicate that the wealth of former refugee households continues to be more compromised by higher mortality levels, poorer education, and less access to high-return employment opportunities. The long-term impact of low initial asset status appears to be perpetuated in this instance by difficulties in obtaining legal status in order to access state pensions, facilities, and opportunities. The usefulness of the results is that they can be used to sharpen the targeting of differentiated policy in a given geographical area for refugee communities in rural Africa. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High and low schizotypal female subjects do not differ in spatial memory abilities in a virtual reality task.

PubMed

García-Montes, José Manuel; Noguera, Carmen; Alvarez, Dolores; Ruiz, Marina; Cimadevilla Redondo, José Manuel

2014-01-01

Schizotypy is a psychological construct related to schizophrenia. The exact relationship between both entities is not clear. In recent years, schizophrenia has been associated with hippocampal abnormalities and spatial memory problems. The aim of this study was to determine possible links between high schizotypy (HS) and low schizotypy (LS) and spatial abilities, using virtual reality tasks. We hypothesised that the HS group would exhibit a lower performance in spatial memory tasks than the LS group. Two groups of female students were formed according to their score on the ESQUIZO-Q-A questionnaire. HS and LS subjects were tested on two different tasks: the Boxes Room task, a spatial memory task sensitive to hippocampal alterations and a spatial recognition task. Data showed that both groups mastered both tasks. Groups differed in personality features but not in spatial performance. These results provide valuable information about the schizotypy-schizophrenia connections. Schizotypal subjects are not impaired on spatial cognition and, accordingly, the schizotypy-schizophrenia relationship is not straightforward.

Mapping Vulnerability to Disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1900-2007

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maynard-Ford, Miriam C.; Phillips, Emily C.; Chirico, Peter G.

2008-01-01

The vulnerability of a population and its infrastructure to disastrous events is a factor of both the probability of a hazardous event occurring and the community's ability to cope with the resulting impacts. Therefore, the ability to accurately identify vulnerable populations and places in order to prepare for future hazards is of critical importance for disaster mitigation programs. This project created maps of higher spatial resolution of vulnerability to disaster in Latin America and the Caribbean from 1900 to 2007 by mapping disaster data by first-level administrative boundaries with the objective of identifying geographic trends in regional occurrences of disasters and vulnerable populations. The method of mapping by administrative level is an improvement on displaying and analyzing disasters at the country level and shows the relative intensity of vulnerability within and between countries in the region. Disaster mapping at the country level produces only a basic view of which countries experience various types of natural disasters. Through disaggregation, the data show which geographic areas of these countries, including populated areas, are historically most susceptible to different hazard types.

Intercepting a sound without vision

PubMed Central

Vercillo, Tiziana; Tonelli, Alessia; Gori, Monica

2017-01-01

Visual information is extremely important to generate internal spatial representations. In the auditory modality, the absence of visual cues during early infancy does not preclude the development of some spatial strategies. However, specific spatial abilities might result impaired. In the current study, we investigated the effect of early visual deprivation on the ability to localize static and moving auditory stimuli by comparing sighted and early blind individuals’ performance in different spatial tasks. We also examined perceptual stability in the two groups of participants by matching localization accuracy in a static and a dynamic head condition that involved rotational head movements. Sighted participants accurately localized static and moving sounds. Their localization ability remained unchanged after rotational movements of the head. Conversely, blind participants showed a leftward bias during the localization of static sounds and a little bias for moving sounds. Moreover, head movements induced a significant bias in the direction of head motion during the localization of moving sounds. These results suggest that internal spatial representations might be body-centered in blind individuals and that in sighted people the availability of visual cues during early infancy may affect sensory-motor interactions. PMID:28481939

The contribution of spatial ability to mathematics achievement in middle childhood.

PubMed

Gilligan, Katie A; Flouri, Eirini; Farran, Emily K

2017-11-01

Strong spatial skills are associated with success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains. Although there is convincing evidence that spatial skills are a reliable predictor of mathematical achievement in preschool children and in university students, there is a lack of research exploring associations between spatial and mathematics achievement during the primary school years. To address this question, this study explored associations between mathematics and spatial skills in children aged 5 and 7years. The study sample included 12,099 children who participated in both Wave 3 (mean age=5; 02 [years; months]) and Wave 4 (mean age=7; 03) of the Millennium Cohort Study. Measures included a standardised assessment of mathematics and the Pattern Construction subscale of the British Ability Scales II to assess intrinsic-dynamic spatial skills. Spatial skills at 5 and 7years of age explained a significant 8.8% of the variation in mathematics achievement at 7years, above that explained by other predictors of mathematics, including gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and language skills. This percentage increased to 22.6% without adjustment for language skills. This study expands previous findings by using a large-scale longitudinal sample of primary school children, a population that has been largely omitted from previous research exploring associations between spatial ability and mathematics achievement. The finding that early and concurrent spatial skills contribute to mathematics achievement at 7years of age highlights the potential of spatial skills as a novel target in the design of mathematics interventions for children in this age range. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Qualitative and quantitative mass spectrometry imaging of drugs and metabolites in tissue at therapeutic levels.

PubMed

Sun, Na; Walch, Axel

2013-08-01

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a rapidly evolving technology that yields qualitative and quantitative distribution maps of small pharmaceutical-active molecules and their metabolites in tissue sections in situ. The simplicity, high sensitivity and ability to provide comprehensive spatial distribution maps of different classes of biomolecules make MSI a valuable tool to complement histopathology for diagnostics and biomarker discovery. In this review, qualitative and quantitative MSI of drugs and metabolites in tissue at therapeutic levels are discussed and the impact of this technique in drug discovery and clinical research is highlighted.

Engineering Play: Exploring Associations with Executive Function, Mathematical Ability, and Spatial Ability in Preschool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gold, Zachary Samuel

Engineering play is a new perspective on preschool education that views constructive play as an engineering design process that parallels the way engineers think and work when they develop engineered solutions to human problems (Bairaktarova, Evangelou, Bagiati, & Brophy, 2011). Early research from this perspective supports its use in framing play as a key learning context. However, no research to date has examined associations between engineering play and other factors linked with early school success, such as executive function, mathematical ability, and spatial ability. Additionally, more research is needed to further validate a new engineering play observational measure. This study had two main goals: (1) to gather early validity data on the engineering play measure as a potentially useful instrument for documenting the occurrence of children's engineering play behaviors in educational contexts, such as block play. This was done by testing the factor structure of the engineering play behaviors in this sample and their association with preschoolers' planning, a key aspect of the engineering design process; (2) to explore associations between preschoolers' engineering play and executive function, mathematical ability, and spatial ability. Participants included 110 preschoolers (62 girls; 48 boys; M = 58.47 months) from 10 classrooms in the Midwest United States coded for their frequency of engagement in each of the nine engineering play behaviors. A confirmatory factor analysis resulted in one engineering play factor including six of the engineering play behaviors. A series of marginal regression models revealed that the engineering play factor was significantly and positively associated with the spatial horizontal rotation transformation. However, engineering play was not significantly related to planning ability, executive function, informal mathematical abilities, or other spatial transformation skills. Follow-up analyses revealed significant positive associations between engineering play and planning, executive function, and geometry for only a subgroup of children (n = 27) who had individualized education program (IEP) status. This was the first of a series of studies planned to evaluate the potential of the engineering play perspective as a tool for understanding young children's development and learning across multiple developmental domains. Although most hypotheses regarding engineering play and cognitive skills were not supported, the study provided partial evidence for the reliability and validity of the engineering play observation measure. Future research should include larger sample sizes with more statistical power, continued refinement of the engineering play observation measure, examination of potential associations with specific early learning domains, including spatial ability and language, and more comparisons of engineering play between typically developing children and children with disabilities.

Understanding planning ability measured by the Tower of London: an evaluation of its internal structure by latent variable modeling.

PubMed

Koppenol-Gonzalez, Gabriela V; Bouwmeester, Samantha; Boonstra, A Marije

2010-12-01

The Tower of London (TOL) is a widely used instrument for assessing planning ability. Inhibition and (spatial) working memory are assumed to contribute to performance on the TOL, but findings about the relationship between these cognitive processes are often inconsistent. Moreover, the influence of specific properties of TOL problems on cognitive processes and difficulty level is often not taken into account. Furthermore, it may be expected that several planning strategies can be distinguished that cannot be extracted from the total score. In this study, a factor analysis and a latent class regression analysis were performed to address these issues. The results showed that 4 strategy groups that differed with respect to preplanning time could be distinguished. The effect of problem properties also differed for the 4 groups. Additional analyses showed that the groups differed on average planning performance but that there were no significant differences between inhibition and spatial working memory performance. Finally, it seemed that multiple factors influence performance on the TOL, the most important ones being the score measurements, the problem properties, and strategy use.

Spatial Visualization--A Gateway to Computer-Based Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norman, Kent L.

1994-01-01

A model is proposed for the influence of individual differences on performance when computer-based technology is introduced. The primary cognitive factor driving differences in performance is spatial visualization ability. Four techniques for mitigating the negative impact of low spatial visualization are discussed: spatial metaphors, graphical…

Effects of spatial resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abrams, M.

1982-01-01

Studies of the effects of spatial resolution on extraction of geologic information are woefully lacking but spatial resolution effects can be examined as they influence two general categories: detection of spatial features per se; and the effects of IFOV on the definition of spectral signatures and on general mapping abilities.

Visual-spatial ability is more important than motivation for novices in surgical simulator training: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Schlickum, Marcus; Hedman, Leif; Felländer-Tsai, Li

2016-02-21

To investigate whether surgical simulation performance and previous video gaming experience would correlate with higher motivation to further train a specific simulator task and whether visual-spatial ability would rank higher in importance to surgical performance than the above. It was also examined whether or not motivation would correlate with a preference to choose a surgical specialty in the future and if simulator training would increase the interest in choosing that same work field. Motivation and general interest in surgery was measured pre- and post-training in 30 medical students at Karolinska Institutet who were tested in a laparoscopic surgical simulator in parallel with measurement of visual-spatial ability and self-estimated video gaming experience. Correlations between simulator performance metrics, visual-spatial ability and motivation were statistically analyzed using regression analysis. A good result in the first simulator trial correlated with higher self-determination index (r =-0.46, p=0.05) in male students. Visual-spatial ability was the most important underlying factor followed by intrinsic motivation score and finally video gaming experience (p=0.02, p=0.05, p=0.11) regarding simulator performance in male students. Simulator training increased interest in surgery when studying all subjects (p=0.01), male subjects (p=0.02) as well as subjects with low video gaming experience (p=0.02). This preliminary study highlights individual differences regarding the effect of simulator training on motivation that can be taken into account when designing simulator training curricula, although the sample size is quite small and findings should be interpreted carefully.

Cognitive correlates of performance in advanced mathematics.

PubMed

Wei, Wei; Yuan, Hongbo; Chen, Chuansheng; Zhou, Xinlin

2012-03-01

Much research has been devoted to understanding cognitive correlates of elementary mathematics performance, but little such research has been done for advanced mathematics (e.g., modern algebra, statistics, and mathematical logic). To promote mathematical knowledge among college students, it is necessary to understand what factors (including cognitive factors) are important for acquiring advanced mathematics. We recruited 80 undergraduates from four universities in Beijing. The current study investigated the associations between students' performance on a test of advanced mathematics and a battery of 17 cognitive tasks on basic numerical processing, complex numerical processing, spatial abilities, language abilities, and general cognitive processing. The results showed that spatial abilities were significantly correlated with performance in advanced mathematics after controlling for other factors. In addition, certain language abilities (i.e., comprehension of words and sentences) also made unique contributions. In contrast, basic numerical processing and computation were generally not correlated with performance in advanced mathematics. Results suggest that spatial abilities and language comprehension, but not basic numerical processing, may play an important role in advanced mathematics. These results are discussed in terms of their theoretical significance and practical implications. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Spatial complementarity and the coexistence of species.

PubMed

Velázquez, Jorge; Garrahan, Juan P; Eichhorn, Markus P

2014-01-01

Coexistence of apparently similar species remains an enduring paradox in ecology. Spatial structure has been predicted to enable coexistence even when population-level models predict competitive exclusion if it causes each species to limit its own population more than that of its competitor. Nevertheless, existing hypotheses conflict with regard to whether clustering favours or precludes coexistence. The spatial segregation hypothesis predicts that in clustered populations the frequency of intra-specific interactions will be increased, causing each species to be self-limiting. Alternatively, individuals of the same species might compete over greater distances, known as heteromyopia, breaking down clusters and opening space for a second species to invade. In this study we create an individual-based model in homogeneous two-dimensional space for two putative sessile species differing only in their demographic rates and the range and strength of their competitive interactions. We fully characterise the parameter space within which coexistence occurs beyond population-level predictions, thereby revealing a region of coexistence generated by a previously-unrecognised process which we term the triadic mechanism. Here coexistence occurs due to the ability of a second generation of offspring of the rarer species to escape competition from their ancestors. We diagnose the conditions under which each of three spatial coexistence mechanisms operates and their characteristic spatial signatures. Deriving insights from a novel metric - ecological pressure - we demonstrate that coexistence is not solely determined by features of the numerically-dominant species. This results in a common framework for predicting, given any pair of species and knowledge of the relevant parameters, whether they will coexist, the mechanism by which they will do so, and the resultant spatial pattern of the community. Spatial coexistence arises from complementary combinations of traits in each species rather than solely through self-limitation.

Spatial Complementarity and the Coexistence of Species

PubMed Central

Velázquez, Jorge; Garrahan, Juan P.; Eichhorn, Markus P.

2014-01-01

Coexistence of apparently similar species remains an enduring paradox in ecology. Spatial structure has been predicted to enable coexistence even when population-level models predict competitive exclusion if it causes each species to limit its own population more than that of its competitor. Nevertheless, existing hypotheses conflict with regard to whether clustering favours or precludes coexistence. The spatial segregation hypothesis predicts that in clustered populations the frequency of intra-specific interactions will be increased, causing each species to be self-limiting. Alternatively, individuals of the same species might compete over greater distances, known as heteromyopia, breaking down clusters and opening space for a second species to invade. In this study we create an individual-based model in homogeneous two-dimensional space for two putative sessile species differing only in their demographic rates and the range and strength of their competitive interactions. We fully characterise the parameter space within which coexistence occurs beyond population-level predictions, thereby revealing a region of coexistence generated by a previously-unrecognised process which we term the triadic mechanism. Here coexistence occurs due to the ability of a second generation of offspring of the rarer species to escape competition from their ancestors. We diagnose the conditions under which each of three spatial coexistence mechanisms operates and their characteristic spatial signatures. Deriving insights from a novel metric — ecological pressure — we demonstrate that coexistence is not solely determined by features of the numerically-dominant species. This results in a common framework for predicting, given any pair of species and knowledge of the relevant parameters, whether they will coexist, the mechanism by which they will do so, and the resultant spatial pattern of the community. Spatial coexistence arises from complementary combinations of traits in each species rather than solely through self-limitation. PMID:25532018

The Effects of Adding Coordinate Axes To a Mental Rotations Task in Measuring Spatial Visualization Ability in Introductory Undergraduate Technical Graphics Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branoff, Ted

1998-01-01

Reports on a study to determine whether the presence of coordinate axes in a test of spatial-visualization ability affects scores and response times on a mental-rotations task for students enrolled in undergraduate introductory graphic communications classes. Based on Pavios's dual-coding theory. Contains 36 references. (DDR)

The Predictive Power of Fifth Graders' Learning Styles on Their Mathematical Reasoning and Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danisman, Sahin; Erginer, Ergin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine fifth graders' mathematical reasoning and spatial ability, to identify a correlation with their learning styles, and to determine the predictive power of their learning styles on their mathematical learning profiles. This causal study was conducted with 97 fifth graders (60 females, 61.9% and 37 males,…

Route-Learning Strategies in Typical and Atypical Development; Eye Tracking Reveals Atypical Landmark Selection in Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farran, E. K.; Formby, S.; Daniyal, F.; Holmes, T.; Van Herwegen, J.

2016-01-01

Background: Successful navigation is crucial to everyday life. Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) have impaired spatial abilities. This includes a deficit in spatial navigation abilities such as learning the route from A to B. To-date, to determine whether participants attend to landmarks when learning a route, landmark recall tasks have been…

A Comparative Analysis of Spatial Visualization Ability and Drafting Models for Industrial and Technology Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros; Jovanovic, Vukica; Jones, Mildred

2014-01-01

The main purpose of this study was to determine significant positive effects among the use of three different types of drafting models, and to identify whether any differences exist towards promotion of spatial visualization ability for students in Industrial Technology and Technology Education courses. In particular, the study compared the use of…

Exploring Verbal, Visual and Schematic Learners' Static and Dynamic Mental Images of Scientific Species and Processes in Relation to Their Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.; Coll, Richard Kevin

2013-01-01

The current study compared different learners' static and dynamic mental images of unseen scientific species and processes in relation to their spatial ability. Learners were classified into verbal, visual and schematic. Dynamic images were classified into: appearing/disappearing, linear-movement, and rotation. Two types of scientific entities and…

Cognitive styles and mental rotation ability in map learning.

PubMed

Pazzaglia, Francesca; Moè, Angelica

2013-11-01

In inspecting, learning and reproducing a map, a wide range of abilities is potentially involved. This study examined the role of mental rotation (MR) and verbal ability, together with that of cognitive styles in map learning. As regards cognitive styles, the traditional distinction between verbalizers and visualizers has been taken into account, together with a more recent distinction between two styles of visualization: spatial and object. One hundred and seven participants filled in two questionnaires on cognitive styles: the Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire (Richardson in J Ment Imag 1:109-125, 1977) and the Object-Spatial Imagery Questionnaire (Blajenkova et al. in Appl Cogn Psych 20:239-263, 2006), performed MR and verbal tests, learned two maps, and were then tested for their recall. It was found that MR ability and cognitive styles played a role in predicting map learning, with some distinctions within cognitive styles: verbal style favoured learning of one of the two maps (the one rich in verbal labels), which in turn was disadvantaged by the adoption of spatial style. Conversely, spatial style predicted learning of the other map, rich in visual features. The discussion focuses on implications for cognitive psychology and everyday cognition.

Getting the Big Picture: Development of Spatial Scaling Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frick, Andrea; Newcombe, Nora S.

2012-01-01

Spatial scaling is an integral aspect of many spatial tasks that involve symbol-to-referent correspondences (e.g., map reading, drawing). In this study, we asked 3-6-year-olds and adults to locate objects in a two-dimensional spatial layout using information from a second spatial representation (map). We examined how scaling factor and reference…

Effects of a Classroom Intervention with Spatial Play Materials on Children's Object and Viewer Transformation Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vander Heyden, Karin M.; Huizinga, Mariette; Jolles, Jelle

2017-01-01

Children practice their spatial skills when playing with spatial toys, such as construction materials, board games, and puzzles. Sex and SES differences are observed in the engagement in such spatial play activities at home, which relate to individual differences in spatial performance. The current study investigated the effects of explicitly…

Visual- spatial capacity: gender and sport differences in young volleyball and tennis athletes and non-athletes

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background In the general population visual-spatial ability is better in males, due to the influence of biological and socio-cultural factors. We know that sport activity improves motor skills. The aim of this work is to determine if these gender differences exist in young athletes. The orientation test described by Terzi and standardized by Cesaroni, used to measure spatial ability, was carried out on 60 volleyball or 60 tennis athletes as well as on 60 non-sporting subjects. Results The data analysis revealed a worse performance for non-athletes in comparison with athletes in both components of test (p < 0.0001; p = 0.04), with no differences between the volleyball and tennis groups. As far as gender comparison is concerned, as expected in the non- sport group the males presented better values (p < 0.001; p = 0.006). However in both sports groups there weren’t any gender differences in either part of the test (p = 0.18; p = 0.056). Conclusions These results confirm that during athletic preparation in volleyball and tennis the specific training is able to develop spatial ability. Besides, boys and girls have similar performance demands and training experience. It appears that this specific training could be responsible for modifying gender differences in performance of spatial ability during adolescence. PMID:24447526

The role of visualization in learning from computer-based images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piburn, Michael D.; Reynolds, Stephen J.; McAuliffe, Carla; Leedy, Debra E.; Birk, James P.; Johnson, Julia K.

2005-05-01

Among the sciences, the practice of geology is especially visual. To assess the role of spatial ability in learning geology, we designed an experiment using: (1) web-based versions of spatial visualization tests, (2) a geospatial test, and (3) multimedia instructional modules built around QuickTime Virtual Reality movies. Students in control and experimental sections were administered measures of spatial orientation and visualization, as well as a content-based geospatial examination. All subjects improved significantly in their scores on spatial visualization and the geospatial examination. There was no change in their scores on spatial orientation. A three-way analysis of variance, with the geospatial examination as the dependent variable, revealed significant main effects favoring the experimental group and a significant interaction between treatment and gender. These results demonstrate that spatial ability can be improved through instruction, that learning of geological content will improve as a result, and that differences in performance between the genders can be eliminated.

Genetic structure and seed-mediated dispersal rates of an endangered shrub in a fragmented landscape: a case study for Juniperus communis in northwestern Europe

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Population extinction risk in a fragmented landscape is related to the differential ability of the species to spread its genes across the landscape. The impact of landscape fragmentation on plant population dynamics will therefore vary across different spatial scales. We quantified successful seed-mediated dispersal of the dioecious shrub Juniperus communis in a fragmented landscape across northwestern Europe by using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Furthermore we investigated the genetic diversity and structure on two spatial scales: across northwestern Europe and across Flanders (northern Belgium). We also studied whether seed viability and populations size were correlated with genetic diversity. Results Unexpectedly, estimated seed-mediated dispersal rates were quite high and ranged between 3% and 14%. No population differentiation and no spatial genetic structure were detected on the local, Flemish scale. A significant low to moderate genetic differentiation between populations was detected at the regional, northwest European scale (PhiPT = 0.10). In general, geographically nearby populations were also genetically related. High levels of within-population genetic diversity were detected but no correlation was found between any genetic diversity parameter and population size or seed viability. Conclusions In northwestern Europe, landscape fragmentation has lead to a weak isolation-by-distance pattern but not to genetic impoverishment of common juniper. Substantial rates of successful migration by seed-mediated gene flow indicate a high dispersal ability which could enable Juniperus communis to naturally colonize suitable habitats. However, it is not clear whether the observed levels of migration will suffice to counterbalance the effects of genetic drift in small populations on the long run. PMID:21859457

Genetic structure and seed-mediated dispersal rates of an endangered shrub in a fragmented landscape: a case study for Juniperus communis in northwestern Europe.

PubMed

Vanden-Broeck, An; Gruwez, Robert; Cox, Karen; Adriaenssens, Sandy; Michalczyk, Inga M; Verheyen, Kris

2011-08-22

Population extinction risk in a fragmented landscape is related to the differential ability of the species to spread its genes across the landscape. The impact of landscape fragmentation on plant population dynamics will therefore vary across different spatial scales. We quantified successful seed-mediated dispersal of the dioecious shrub Juniperus communis in a fragmented landscape across northwestern Europe by using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Furthermore we investigated the genetic diversity and structure on two spatial scales: across northwestern Europe and across Flanders (northern Belgium). We also studied whether seed viability and populations size were correlated with genetic diversity. Unexpectedly, estimated seed-mediated dispersal rates were quite high and ranged between 3% and 14%. No population differentiation and no spatial genetic structure were detected on the local, Flemish scale. A significant low to moderate genetic differentiation between populations was detected at the regional, northwest European scale (PhiPT = 0.10). In general, geographically nearby populations were also genetically related. High levels of within-population genetic diversity were detected but no correlation was found between any genetic diversity parameter and population size or seed viability. In northwestern Europe, landscape fragmentation has lead to a weak isolation-by-distance pattern but not to genetic impoverishment of common juniper. Substantial rates of successful migration by seed-mediated gene flow indicate a high dispersal ability which could enable Juniperus communis to naturally colonize suitable habitats. However, it is not clear whether the observed levels of migration will suffice to counterbalance the effects of genetic drift in small populations on the long run.

Association between Abacus Training and Improvement in Response Inhibition: A Case-control Study

PubMed Central

Na, Kyoung-Sae; Lee, Soyoung Irene; Park, Jun-Ho; Jung, Han-Yong; Ryu, Jung-Hee

2015-01-01

Objective The abacus, first used in Asian countries more than 800 years ago, enables efficient arithmetic calculation via visuo-spatial configuration. We investigated whether abacus-trained children performed better on cognitive tasks and demonstrated higher levels of arithmetic abilities compared to those without such training. Methods We recruited 75 elementary school children (43 abacus-trained and 32 not so trained). Attention, memory, and arithmetic abilities were measured, and we compared the abacus with the control group. Results Children who had learned to use an abacus committed fewer commission errors and showed better arithmetic ability than did controls. We found no significant differences between children with and without abacus training in other areas of attention. Conclusion We speculate that abacus training improves response inhibition via neuroanatomical alterations of the areas that regulate such functions. Further studies are needed to confirm the association between abacus training and better response inhibition. PMID:26243843

Untangling the Contribution of the Subcomponents of Working Memory to Mathematical Proficiency as Measured by the National Tests: A Study among Swedish Third Graders

PubMed Central

Wiklund-Hörnqvist, Carola; Jonsson, Bert; Korhonen, Johan; Eklöf, Hanna; Nyroos, Mikaela

2016-01-01

The aim with the present study was to examine the relationship between the subcomponents in working memory (WM) and mathematical performance, as measured by the National tests in a sample of 597 Swedish third-grade pupils. In line with compelling evidence of other studies, individual differences in WM capacity significantly predicted mathematical performance. Dividing the sample into four groups, based on their mathematical performance, revealed that mathematical ability can be conceptualized in terms of different WM profiles. Pupils categorized as High-math performers particularly differed from the other three groups in having a significant higher phonological ability. In contrast, pupils categorized as Low-math performers were particularly characterized by having a significant lower visuo-spatial ability. Findings suggest that it is important for educators to recognize and acknowledge individual differences in WM to support mathematical achievement at an individual level. PMID:27486413

Effects of peptides from Phascolosoma esculenta on spatial learning and memory via anti-oxidative character in mice.

PubMed

Liu, Lianliang; Cao, Jinxuan; Chen, Jiong; Zhang, Xin; Wu, Zufang; Xiang, Huan

2016-09-19

This study was aimed to evaluate effects of peptides from Phascolosoma esculenta and its ferrous-chelating peptides on spatial learning and memory in mice by Morris water maze test. 100mg/kg peptide on spatial learning and memory function about quadrant time and passing times through the platform better than 50 and 150mg/kg group during exploration period (P<0.05), without body weight between the weight and visual ability. 100mg/kg ferrous-chelating peptide group performed better ability of spatial learning and memory than 100mg/kg peptide group (P<0.05). qRT-PCR results showed that 50 and 100mg/kg administration peptide and 100mg/kg ferrous-chelating peptide can significantly improve mRNA expression of NR2A, NR2B and BDNF with oxidative stress status (GSH-Px, SOD, TAC and MDA), which explained mechanism for improving learning and memory ability in mice via anti-oxidative character. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short-Term Memory Maintenance of Object Locations during Active Navigation: Which Working Memory Subsystem Is Essential?

PubMed Central

Baumann, Oliver; Skilleter, Ashley J.; Mattingley, Jason B.

2011-01-01

The goal of the present study was to examine the extent to which working memory supports the maintenance of object locations during active spatial navigation. Participants were required to navigate a virtual environment and to encode the location of a target object. In the subsequent maintenance period they performed one of three secondary tasks that were designed to selectively load visual, verbal or spatial working memory subsystems. Thereafter participants re-entered the environment and navigated back to the remembered location of the target. We found that while navigation performance in participants with high navigational ability was impaired only by the spatial secondary task, navigation performance in participants with poor navigational ability was impaired equally by spatial and verbal secondary tasks. The visual secondary task had no effect on navigation performance. Our results extend current knowledge by showing that the differential engagement of working memory subsystems is determined by navigational ability. PMID:21629686

How directions of route descriptions influence orientation specificity: the contribution of spatial abilities.

PubMed

Meneghetti, Chiara; Muffato, Veronica; Varotto, Diego; De Beni, Rossana

2017-03-01

Previous studies found mental representations of route descriptions north-up oriented when egocentric experience (given by the protagonist's initial view) was congruent with the global reference system. This study examines: (a) the development and maintenance of representations derived from descriptions when the egocentric and global reference systems are congruent or incongruent; and (b) how spatial abilities modulate these representations. Sixty participants (in two groups of 30) heard route descriptions of a protagonist's moves starting from the bottom of a layout and headed mainly northwards (SN description) in one group, and headed south from the top (NS description, the egocentric view facing in the opposite direction to the canonical north) in the other. Description recall was tested with map drawing (after hearing the description a first and second time; i.e. Time 1 and 2) and South-North (SN) or North-South (NS) pointing tasks; and spatial objective tasks were administered. The results showed that: (a) the drawings were more rotated in NS than in SN descriptions, and performed better at Time 2 than at Time 1 for both types of description; SN pointing was more accurate than NS pointing for the SN description, while SN and NS pointing accuracy did not differ for the NS description; (b) spatial (rotation) abilities were related to recall accuracy for both types of description, but were more so for the NS ones. Overall, our results showed that the way in which spatial information is conveyed (with/without congruence between the egocentric and global reference systems) and spatial abilities influence the development and maintenance of mental representations.

Spatial Thinking in Atmospheric Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNeal, P. M.; Petcovic, H. L.; Ellis, T. D.

2016-12-01

Atmospheric science is a STEM discipline that involves the visualization of three-dimensional processes from two-dimensional maps, interpretation of computer-generated graphics and hand plotting of isopleths. Thus, atmospheric science draws heavily upon spatial thinking. Research has shown that spatial thinking ability can be a predictor of early success in STEM disciplines and substantial evidence demonstrates that spatial thinking ability is improved through various interventions. Therefore, identification of the spatial thinking skills and cognitive processes used in atmospheric science is the first step toward development of instructional strategies that target these skills and scaffold the learning of students in atmospheric science courses. A pilot study of expert and novice meteorologists identified mental animation and disembedding as key spatial skills used in the interpretation of multiple weather charts and images. Using this as a starting point, we investigated how these spatial skills, together with expertise, domain specific knowledge, and working memory capacity affect the ability to produce an accurate forecast. Participants completed a meteorology concept inventory, experience questionnaire and psychometric tests of spatial thinking ability and working memory capacity prior to completing a forecasting task. A quantitative analysis of the collected data investigated the effect of the predictor variables on the outcome task. A think-aloud protocol with individual participants provided a qualitative look at processes such as task decomposition, rule-based reasoning and the formation of mental models in an attempt to understand how individuals process this complex data and describe outcomes of particular meteorological scenarios. With our preliminary results we aim to inform atmospheric science education from a cognitive science perspective. The results point to a need to collaborate with the atmospheric science community broadly, such that multiple educational pipelines are affected including university meteorology courses for majors and non-majors, military weather forecaster preparation and professional training for operational meteorologists, thus improving student learning and the continued development of the current and future workforce.

How Math Anxiety Relates to Number-Space Associations.

PubMed

Georges, Carrie; Hoffmann, Danielle; Schiltz, Christine

2016-01-01

Given the considerable prevalence of math anxiety, it is important to identify the factors contributing to it in order to improve mathematical learning. Research on math anxiety typically focusses on the effects of more complex arithmetic skills. Recent evidence, however, suggests that deficits in basic numerical processing and spatial skills also constitute potential risk factors of math anxiety. Given these observations, we determined whether math anxiety also depends on the quality of spatial-numerical associations. Behavioral evidence for a tight link between numerical and spatial representations is given by the SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect, characterized by faster left-/right-sided responses for small/large digits respectively in binary classification tasks. We compared the strength of the SNARC effect between high and low math anxious individuals using the classical parity judgment task in addition to evaluating their spatial skills, arithmetic performance, working memory and inhibitory control. Greater math anxiety was significantly associated with stronger spatio-numerical interactions. This finding adds to the recent evidence supporting a link between math anxiety and basic numerical abilities and strengthens the idea that certain characteristics of low-level number processing such as stronger number-space associations constitute a potential risk factor of math anxiety.

How Math Anxiety Relates to Number–Space Associations

PubMed Central

Georges, Carrie; Hoffmann, Danielle; Schiltz, Christine

2016-01-01

Given the considerable prevalence of math anxiety, it is important to identify the factors contributing to it in order to improve mathematical learning. Research on math anxiety typically focusses on the effects of more complex arithmetic skills. Recent evidence, however, suggests that deficits in basic numerical processing and spatial skills also constitute potential risk factors of math anxiety. Given these observations, we determined whether math anxiety also depends on the quality of spatial-numerical associations. Behavioral evidence for a tight link between numerical and spatial representations is given by the SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect, characterized by faster left-/right-sided responses for small/large digits respectively in binary classification tasks. We compared the strength of the SNARC effect between high and low math anxious individuals using the classical parity judgment task in addition to evaluating their spatial skills, arithmetic performance, working memory and inhibitory control. Greater math anxiety was significantly associated with stronger spatio-numerical interactions. This finding adds to the recent evidence supporting a link between math anxiety and basic numerical abilities and strengthens the idea that certain characteristics of low-level number processing such as stronger number–space associations constitute a potential risk factor of math anxiety. PMID:27683570

Unveiling Spatial Epidemiology of HIV with Mobile Phone Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brdar, Sanja; Gavrić, Katarina; Ćulibrk, Dubravko; Crnojević, Vladimir

2016-01-01

An increasing amount of geo-referenced mobile phone data enables the identification of behavioral patterns, habits and movements of people. With this data, we can extract the knowledge potentially useful for many applications including the one tackled in this study - understanding spatial variation of epidemics. We explored the datasets collected by a cell phone service provider and linked them to spatial HIV prevalence rates estimated from publicly available surveys. For that purpose, 224 features were extracted from mobility and connectivity traces and related to the level of HIV epidemic in 50 Ivory Coast departments. By means of regression models, we evaluated predictive ability of extracted features. Several models predicted HIV prevalence that are highly correlated (>0.7) with actual values. Through contribution analysis we identified key elements that correlate with the rate of infections and could serve as a proxy for epidemic monitoring. Our findings indicate that night connectivity and activity, spatial area covered by users and overall migrations are strongly linked to HIV. By visualizing the communication and mobility flows, we strived to explain the spatial structure of epidemics. We discovered that strong ties and hubs in communication and mobility align with HIV hot spots.

Comparison of Bayesian clustering and edge detection methods for inferring boundaries in landscape genetics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Safner, T.; Miller, M.P.; McRae, B.H.; Fortin, M.-J.; Manel, S.

2011-01-01

Recently, techniques available for identifying clusters of individuals or boundaries between clusters using genetic data from natural populations have expanded rapidly. Consequently, there is a need to evaluate these different techniques. We used spatially-explicit simulation models to compare three spatial Bayesian clustering programs and two edge detection methods. Spatially-structured populations were simulated where a continuous population was subdivided by barriers. We evaluated the ability of each method to correctly identify boundary locations while varying: (i) time after divergence, (ii) strength of isolation by distance, (iii) level of genetic diversity, and (iv) amount of gene flow across barriers. To further evaluate the methods' effectiveness to detect genetic clusters in natural populations, we used previously published data on North American pumas and a European shrub. Our results show that with simulated and empirical data, the Bayesian spatial clustering algorithms outperformed direct edge detection methods. All methods incorrectly detected boundaries in the presence of strong patterns of isolation by distance. Based on this finding, we support the application of Bayesian spatial clustering algorithms for boundary detection in empirical datasets, with necessary tests for the influence of isolation by distance. ?? 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Unveiling Spatial Epidemiology of HIV with Mobile Phone Data

PubMed Central

Brdar, Sanja; Gavrić, Katarina; Ćulibrk, Dubravko; Crnojević, Vladimir

2016-01-01

An increasing amount of geo-referenced mobile phone data enables the identification of behavioral patterns, habits and movements of people. With this data, we can extract the knowledge potentially useful for many applications including the one tackled in this study - understanding spatial variation of epidemics. We explored the datasets collected by a cell phone service provider and linked them to spatial HIV prevalence rates estimated from publicly available surveys. For that purpose, 224 features were extracted from mobility and connectivity traces and related to the level of HIV epidemic in 50 Ivory Coast departments. By means of regression models, we evaluated predictive ability of extracted features. Several models predicted HIV prevalence that are highly correlated (>0.7) with actual values. Through contribution analysis we identified key elements that correlate with the rate of infections and could serve as a proxy for epidemic monitoring. Our findings indicate that night connectivity and activity, spatial area covered by users and overall migrations are strongly linked to HIV. By visualizing the communication and mobility flows, we strived to explain the spatial structure of epidemics. We discovered that strong ties and hubs in communication and mobility align with HIV hot spots. PMID:26758042

Effectiveness of Drafting Models for Engineering Technology Students and Impacts on Spatial Visualization Ability: An Analysis and Consideration of Critical Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros J.; Stefaniak, Jill E.

2018-01-01

Results from a number of studies indicate that the use of drafting models can positively influence the spatial visualization ability for engineering technology students. However, additional variables such as light, temperature, motion and color can play an important role but research provides inconsistent results. Considering this, a set of 5…

The Relationship between Learners' Distrust of Scientific Models, Their Spatial Ability, and the Vividness of Their Mental Images

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to examine the nature of the relationship between learners' distrust of scientific models that represent unseen entities and phenomena, their spatial ability, and the vividness of their mental images. The sample consisted of 302 tenth grade students in the Sultanate of Oman. Three measures were used for this…

Improvements to the Processing and Characterization of Needled Composite Laminates

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

the automated processing equipment are shown and discussed. The modifications allow better spatial control at the penetration sites and the ability... automated processing equipment are shown and discussed. The modifications allow better spatial control at the penetration sites and the ability to...semi- automated processing equipment, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) needles and COTS aramid mat designed for other applications. Needled material

From Spatial Intelligence to Spatial Competences: The Results of Applied Geo-Research in Italian Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarno, Emilia

2012-01-01

This contribution explains the connection between spatial intelligence and spatial competences and by indicating how the first is the cognitive matrix of abilities necessary to move in space as well as to represent it. Indeed, two are principal factors involved in the spatial intelligence: orientation and representation. Both are based on a close…

Hierarchical Bayesian spatial models for multispecies conservation planning and monitoring.

PubMed

Carroll, Carlos; Johnson, Devin S; Dunk, Jeffrey R; Zielinski, William J

2010-12-01

Biologists who develop and apply habitat models are often familiar with the statistical challenges posed by their data's spatial structure but are unsure of whether the use of complex spatial models will increase the utility of model results in planning. We compared the relative performance of nonspatial and hierarchical Bayesian spatial models for three vertebrate and invertebrate taxa of conservation concern (Church's sideband snails [Monadenia churchi], red tree voles [Arborimus longicaudus], and Pacific fishers [Martes pennanti pacifica]) that provide examples of a range of distributional extents and dispersal abilities. We used presence-absence data derived from regional monitoring programs to develop models with both landscape and site-level environmental covariates. We used Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms and a conditional autoregressive or intrinsic conditional autoregressive model framework to fit spatial models. The fit of Bayesian spatial models was between 35 and 55% better than the fit of nonspatial analogue models. Bayesian spatial models outperformed analogous models developed with maximum entropy (Maxent) methods. Although the best spatial and nonspatial models included similar environmental variables, spatial models provided estimates of residual spatial effects that suggested how ecological processes might structure distribution patterns. Spatial models built from presence-absence data improved fit most for localized endemic species with ranges constrained by poorly known biogeographic factors and for widely distributed species suspected to be strongly affected by unmeasured environmental variables or population processes. By treating spatial effects as a variable of interest rather than a nuisance, hierarchical Bayesian spatial models, especially when they are based on a common broad-scale spatial lattice (here the national Forest Inventory and Analysis grid of 24 km(2) hexagons), can increase the relevance of habitat models to multispecies conservation planning. Journal compilation © 2010 Society for Conservation Biology. No claim to original US government works.

Surgical simulation tasks challenge visual working memory and visual-spatial ability differently.

PubMed

Schlickum, Marcus; Hedman, Leif; Enochsson, Lars; Henningsohn, Lars; Kjellin, Ann; Felländer-Tsai, Li

2011-04-01

New strategies for selection and training of physicians are emerging. Previous studies have demonstrated a correlation between visual-spatial ability and visual working memory with surgical simulator performance. The aim of this study was to perform a detailed analysis on how these abilities are associated with metrics in simulator performance with different task content. The hypothesis is that the importance of visual-spatial ability and visual working memory varies with different task contents. Twenty-five medical students participated in the study that involved testing visual-spatial ability using the MRT-A test and visual working memory using the RoboMemo computer program. Subjects were also trained and tested for performance in three different surgical simulators. The scores from the psychometric tests and the performance metrics were then correlated using multivariate analysis. MRT-A score correlated significantly with the performance metrics Efficiency of screening (p = 0.006) and Total time (p = 0.01) in the GI Mentor II task and Total score (p = 0.02) in the MIST-VR simulator task. In the Uro Mentor task, both the MRT-A score and the visual working memory 3-D cube test score as presented in the RoboMemo program (p = 0.02) correlated with Total score (p = 0.004). In this study we have shown that some differences exist regarding the impact of visual abilities and task content on simulator performance. When designing future cognitive training programs and testing regimes, one might have to consider that the design must be adjusted in accordance with the specific surgical task to be trained in mind.

Information Processing and Human Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirby, John R.; Das, J. P.

1978-01-01

The simultaneous and successive processing model of cognitive abilities was compared to a traditional primary mental abilities model. Simultaneous processing was found to be primarily related to spatial ability; and to a lesser extent, to memory and inductive reasoning. Subjects were 104 fourth-grade urban males. (Author/GD C)

Spatial Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Superior, Impaired, or Just Intact?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edgin, Jamie O.; Pennington, Bruce F.

2005-01-01

The profile of spatial ability is of interest across autism spectrum disorders (ASD) because of reported spatial strengths in ASD and due to the recent association of Asperger's syndrome with Nonverbal Learning Disability. Spatial functions were examined in relation to two cognitive theories in autism: the central coherence and executive function…

The Ability of Young Korean Children to Use Spatial Representations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Minsung; Bednarz, Robert; Kim, Jaeyil

2012-01-01

The National Research Council emphasizes using tools of representation as an essential element of spatial thinking. However, it is debatable at what age the use of spatial representation for spatial thinking skills should begin. This study investigated whether young Korean children possess the potential to understand map-like representation using…

Effects of Spatial and Feature Attention on Disparity-Rendered Structure-From-Motion Stimuli in the Human Visual Cortex

PubMed Central

Ip, Ifan Betina; Bridge, Holly; Parker, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

An important advance in the study of visual attention has been the identification of a non-spatial component of attention that enhances the response to similar features or objects across the visual field. Here we test whether this non-spatial component can co-select individual features that are perceptually bound into a coherent object. We combined human psychophysics and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate the ability to co-select individual features from perceptually coherent objects. Our study used binocular disparity and visual motion to define disparity structure-from-motion (dSFM) stimuli. Although the spatial attention system induced strong modulations of the fMRI response in visual regions, the non-spatial system’s ability to co-select features of the dSFM stimulus was less pronounced and variable across subjects. Our results demonstrate that feature and global feature attention effects are variable across participants, suggesting that the feature attention system may be limited in its ability to automatically select features within the attended object. Careful comparison of the task design suggests that even minor differences in the perceptual task may be critical in revealing the presence of global feature attention. PMID:24936974

Visual-spatial ability is more important than motivation for novices in surgical simulator training: a preliminary study

PubMed Central

Hedman, Leif; Felländer-Tsai, Li

2016-01-01

Objectives To investigate whether surgical simulation performance and previous video gaming experience would correlate with higher motivation to further train a specific simulator task and whether visual-spatial ability would rank higher in importance to surgical performance than the above. It was also examined whether or not motivation would correlate with a preference to choose a surgical specialty in the future and if simulator training would increase the interest in choosing that same work field. Methods Motivation and general interest in surgery was measured pre- and post-training in 30 medical students at Karolinska Institutet who were tested in a laparoscopic surgical simulator in parallel with measurement of visual-spatial ability and self-estimated video gaming experience.  Correlations between simulator performance metrics, visual-spatial ability and motivation were statistically analyzed using regression analysis. Results A good result in the first simulator trial correlated with higher self-determination index (r =-0.46, p=0.05) in male students. Visual-spatial ability was the most important underlying factor followed by intrinsic motivation score and finally video gaming experience (p=0.02, p=0.05, p=0.11) regarding simulator performance in male students. Simulator training increased interest in surgery when studying all subjects (p=0.01), male subjects (p=0.02) as well as subjects with low video gaming experience (p=0.02). Conclusions This preliminary study highlights individual differences regarding the effect of simulator training on motivation that can be taken into account when designing simulator training curricula, although the sample size is quite small and findings should be interpreted carefully.  PMID:26897701

Mental rotation task in a pilot during and after pregnancy.

PubMed

Piccardi, Laura; Verde, Paola; Bianchini, Filippo; Morgagni, Fabio; Guariglia, Cecilia; Strollo, Felice

2013-10-01

Discordant findings have been reported about the change in pregnant women's cognitive test performance. Visuo-spatial abilities, which are crucial in terrestrial/flight navigation, could be influenced by hormonal variations. A 32-yr-old Italian Air Force pilot underwent a 2-D Mental Rotation Task (MRT) and hormonal assessment in the second trimester of pregnancy and 1 yr after delivery. Her performance was compared with that of two nonpregnant groups of women: one with flying experience and the other without. Estradiol and progesterone were significantly higher in pregnancy compared with postpartum, while testosterone was almost unchanged. During pregnancy, we observed a significant difference in the subject's response time compared with pilots (she was slower) and nonpilots (she was faster). One year after delivery, her performance was still better than the nonpilot group and was almost the same as the pilot group. Our data are consistent with an effect of pregnancy on visuo-spatial ability that can last for some time after delivery, even with the early recovery of the hormonal levels. MRT smoothly changed in our subject, supporting previous findings that women who are experts in flight navigation are less sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. In this case, visuospatial ability requiring effortful processing underwent variations during pregnancy and postpartum. Further studies are needed in order to confirm our observations in a wider population.

Differential effect of plant lipids on membrane organization: specificities of phytosphingolipids and phytosterols.

PubMed

Grosjean, Kevin; Mongrand, Sébastien; Beney, Laurent; Simon-Plas, Françoise; Gerbeau-Pissot, Patricia

2015-02-27

The high diversity of the plant lipid mixture raises the question of their respective involvement in the definition of membrane organization. This is particularly the case for plant plasma membrane, which is enriched in specific lipids, such as free and conjugated forms of phytosterols and typical phytosphingolipids, such as glycosylinositolphosphoceramides. This question was here addressed extensively by characterizing the order level of membrane from vesicles prepared using various plant lipid mixtures and labeled with an environment-sensitive probe. Fluorescence spectroscopy experiments showed that among major phytosterols, campesterol exhibits a stronger ability than β-sitosterol and stigmasterol to order model membranes. Multispectral confocal microscopy, allowing spatial analysis of membrane organization, demonstrated accordingly the strong ability of campesterol to promote ordered domain formation and to organize their spatial distribution at the membrane surface. Conjugated sterol forms, alone and in synergy with free sterols, exhibit a striking ability to order membrane. Plant sphingolipids, particularly glycosylinositolphosphoceramides, enhanced the sterol-induced ordering effect, emphasizing the formation and increasing the size of sterol-dependent ordered domains. Altogether, our results support a differential involvement of free and conjugated phytosterols in the formation of ordered domains and suggest that the diversity of plant lipids, allowing various local combinations of lipid species, could be a major contributor to membrane organization in particular through the formation of sphingolipid-sterol interacting domains. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Predictive value of background experiences and visual spatial ability testing on laparoscopic baseline performance among residents entering postgraduate surgical training.

PubMed

Louridas, Marisa; Quinn, Lauren E; Grantcharov, Teodor P

2016-03-01

Emerging evidence suggests that despite dedicated practice, not all surgical trainees have the ability to reach technical competency in minimally invasive techniques. While selecting residents that have the ability to reach technical competence is important, evidence to guide the incorporation of technical ability into selection processes is limited. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether background experiences and 2D-3D visual spatial test results are predictive of baseline laparoscopic skill for the novice surgical trainee. First-year residents were studied. Demographic data and background surgical and non-surgical experiences were obtained using a questionnaire. Visual spatial ability was evaluated using the PicSOr, cube comparison (CC) and card rotation (CR) tests. Technical skill was assessed using the camera navigation (LCN) task and laparoscopic circle cut (LCC) task. Resident performance on these technical tasks was compared and correlated with the questionnaire and visual spatial findings. Previous experience in observing laparoscopic procedures was associated with significantly better LCN performance, and experience in navigating the laparoscopic camera was associated with significantly better LCC task results. Residents who scored higher on the CC test demonstrated a more accurate LCN path length score (r s(PL) = -0.36, p = 0.03) and angle path (r s(AP) = -0.426, p = 0.01) score when completing the LCN task. No other significant correlations were found between the visual spatial tests (PicSOr, CC or CR) and LCC performance. While identifying selection tests for incoming surgical trainees that predict technical skill performance is appealing, the surrogate markers evaluated correlate with specific metrics of surgical performance related to a single task but do not appear to reliably predict technical performance of different laparoscopic tasks. Predicting the acquisition of technical skills will require the development of a series of evidence-based tests that measure a number of innate abilities as well as their inherent interactions.

Understanding Local Spatial Variation Along the Care Continuum: The Potential Impact of Transportation Vulnerability on HIV Linkage to Care and Viral Suppression in High-Poverty Areas, Atlanta, Georgia.

PubMed

Goswami, Neela D; Schmitz, Michelle M; Sanchez, Travis; Dasgupta, Sharoda; Sullivan, Patrick; Cooper, Hannah; Rane, Deepali; Kelly, Jane; Del Rio, Carlos; Waller, Lance A

2016-05-01

Engagement in care is central to reducing mortality for HIV-infected persons and achieving the White House National AIDS Strategy of 80% viral suppression in the US by 2020. Where an HIV-infected person lives impacts his or her ability to achieve viral suppression. Reliable transportation access for healthcare may be a key determinant of this place-suppression relationship. ZIP code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) were the units of analysis. We used geospatial and ecologic analyses to examine spatial distributions of neighborhood-level variables (eg, transportation accessibility) and associations with: (1) community linkage to care, and (2) community viral suppression. Among Atlanta ZCTAs with data for newly diagnosed HIV cases (2006-2010), we used Moran I to evaluate spatial clustering and linear regression models to evaluate associations between neighborhood variables and outcomes. In 100 ZCTAs with 8413 newly diagnosed HIV-positive residents, a median of 60 HIV cases were diagnosed per ZCTA during the 5-year period. We found significant clustering of ZCTAs with low linkage to care and viral suppression (Moran I = 0.218, P < 0.05). In high-poverty ZCTAs, a 10% point increase in ZCTA-level household vehicle ownership was associated with a 4% point increase in linkage to care (P = 0.02, R = 0.16). In low-poverty ZCTAs, a 10% point increase in ZCTA-level household vehicle ownership was associated with a 30% point increase in ZCTA-level viral suppression (P = 0.01, R = 0.08). Correlations between transportation variables and community-level care linkage and viral suppression vary by area poverty level and provide opportunities for interventions beyond individual-level factors.

Chronic stress impairs spatial memory and motivation for reward without disrupting motor ability and motivation to explore.

PubMed

Kleen, Jonathan K; Sitomer, Matthew T; Killeen, Peter R; Conrad, Cheryl D

2006-08-01

This study uses an operant, behavioral model to assess the daily changes in the decay rate of short-term memory, motivation, and motor ability in rats exposed to chronic restraint. Restraint decreased reward-related motivation by 50% without altering memory decay rate or motor ability. Moreover, chronic restraint impaired hippocampal-dependent spatial memory on the Y maze (4-hr delay) and produced CA3 dendritic retraction without altering hippocampal-independent maze navigation (1-min delay) or locomotion. Thus, mechanisms underlying motivation for food reward differ from those underlying Y maze exploration, and neurobiological substrates of spatial memory, such as the hippocampus, differ from those that underlie short-term memory. Chronic restraint produces functional, neuromorphological, and physiological alterations that parallel symptoms of depression in humans. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Memory ability of children with complex communication needs.

PubMed

Larsson, Maria; Sandberg, Annika Dahlgren

2008-01-01

Phonological memory is central to language and reading and writing skills. Many children with complex communication needs (CCN) experience problems with reading and writing acquisition. The reason could be because of the absence of articulatory ability, which might have a negative affect on phonological memory. Phonological and visuo-spatial short-term memory and working memory were tested in 15 children with CCN, aged 5 - 12 years, and compared to children with natural speech matched for gender, and mental and linguistic age. Results indicated weaker phonological STM and visuo-spatial STM and WM in children with CCN. The lack of articulatory ability could be assumed to affect subvocal rehearsal and, therefore, phonological memory which, in turn, may affect reading and writing acquisition. Weak visuo-spatial memory could also complicate the use of Bliss symbols and other types of augmentative and alternative communication.

Gender Differences in Solving Mathematics Problems among Two-Year College Students in a Developmental Algebra Class and Related Factors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schonberger, Ann K.

A study was conducted at the University of Maine at Orono (UMO) to examine gender differences with respect to mathematical problem-solving ability, visual spatial ability, abstract reasoning ability, field independence/dependence, independent learning style, and developmental problem-solving ability (i.e., formal reasoning ability). Subjects…

GIS Modeling of Air Toxics Releases from TRI-Reporting and Non-TRI-Reporting Facilities: Impacts for Environmental Justice

PubMed Central

Dolinoy, Dana C.; Miranda, Marie Lynn

2004-01-01

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) requires facilities with 10 or more full-time employees that process > 25,000 pounds in aggregate or use > 10,000 pounds of any one TRI chemical to report releases annually. However, little is known about releases from non-TRI-reporting facilities, nor has attention been given to the very localized equity impacts associated with air toxics releases. Using geographic information systems and industrial source complex dispersion modeling, we developed methods for characterizing air releases from TRI-reporting as well as non-TRI-reporting facilities at four levels of geographic resolution. We characterized the spatial distribution and concentration of air releases from one representative industry in Durham County, North Carolina (USA). Inclusive modeling of all facilities rather than modeling of TRI sites alone significantly alters the magnitude and spatial distribution of modeled air concentrations. Modeling exposure receptors at more refined levels of geographic resolution reveals localized, neighborhood-level exposure hot spots that are not apparent at coarser geographic scales. Multivariate analysis indicates that inclusive facility modeling at fine levels of geographic resolution reveals exposure disparities by income and race. These new methods significantly enhance the ability to model air toxics, perform equity analysis, and clarify conflicts in the literature regarding environmental justice findings. This work has substantial implications for how to structure TRI reporting requirements, as well as methods and types of analysis that will successfully elucidate the spatial distribution of exposure potentials across geographic, income, and racial lines. PMID:15579419

Learning real-life cognitive abilities in a novel 360°-virtual reality supermarket: a neuropsychological study of healthy participants and patients with epilepsy

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background To increase the ecological validity of neuropsychological instruments the use of virtual reality (VR) applications can be considered as an effective tool in the field of cognitive neurorehabilitation. Despite the growing use of VR programs, only few studies have considered the application of everyday activities like shopping or travelling in VR training devices. Methods We developed a novel 360°- VR supermarket, which is displayed on a circular arrangement of 8 touch-screens – the “OctaVis”. In this setting, healthy human adults had to memorize an auditorily presented shopping list (list A) and subsequently buy all remembered products of this list in the VR supermarket. This procedure was accomplished on three consecutive days. On day four, a new shopping list (list B) was introduced and participants had to memorize and buy only products of this list. On day five, participants had to buy all remembered items of list A again, but without new presentation of list A. Additionally, we obtained measures of participants’ presence, immersion and figural-spatial memory abilities. We also tested a sample of patients with focal epilepsy with an extended version of our shopping task, which consisted of eight days of training. Results We observed a comprehensive and stable effect of learning for the number of correct products, the required time for shopping, and the length of movement trajectories in the VR supermarket in the course of the training program. Task performance was significantly correlated with participants’ figural-spatial memory abilities and subjective level of immersion into the VR. Conclusions Learning effects in our paradigm extend beyond mere verbal learning of the shopping list as the data show evidence for multi-layered learning (at least visual-spatial, strategic, and verbal) on concordant measures. Importantly, learning also correlated with measures of figural-spatial memory and the degree of immersion into the VR. We propose that cognitive training with the VR supermarket program in the OctaVis will be efficient for the assessment and training of real-life cognitive abilities in healthy subjects and patients with epilepsy. It is most likely that our findings will also apply for patients with cognitive disabilities resulting from other neurological and psychiatric syndromes. PMID:23618596

Learning real-life cognitive abilities in a novel 360°-virtual reality supermarket: a neuropsychological study of healthy participants and patients with epilepsy.

PubMed

Grewe, Philip; Kohsik, Agnes; Flentge, David; Dyck, Eugen; Botsch, Mario; Winter, York; Markowitsch, Hans J; Bien, Christian G; Piefke, Martina

2013-04-23

To increase the ecological validity of neuropsychological instruments the use of virtual reality (VR) applications can be considered as an effective tool in the field of cognitive neurorehabilitation. Despite the growing use of VR programs, only few studies have considered the application of everyday activities like shopping or travelling in VR training devices. We developed a novel 360°-VR supermarket, which is displayed on a circular arrangement of 8 touch-screens--the "OctaVis". In this setting, healthy human adults had to memorize an auditorily presented shopping list (list A) and subsequently buy all remembered products of this list in the VR supermarket. This procedure was accomplished on three consecutive days. On day four, a new shopping list (list B) was introduced and participants had to memorize and buy only products of this list. On day five, participants had to buy all remembered items of list A again, but without new presentation of list A. Additionally, we obtained measures of participants' presence, immersion and figural-spatial memory abilities. We also tested a sample of patients with focal epilepsy with an extended version of our shopping task, which consisted of eight days of training. We observed a comprehensive and stable effect of learning for the number of correct products, the required time for shopping, and the length of movement trajectories in the VR supermarket in the course of the training program. Task performance was significantly correlated with participants' figural-spatial memory abilities and subjective level of immersion into the VR. Learning effects in our paradigm extend beyond mere verbal learning of the shopping list as the data show evidence for multi-layered learning (at least visual-spatial, strategic, and verbal) on concordant measures. Importantly, learning also correlated with measures of figural-spatial memory and the degree of immersion into the VR. We propose that cognitive training with the VR supermarket program in the OctaVis will be efficient for the assessment and training of real-life cognitive abilities in healthy subjects and patients with epilepsy. It is most likely that our findings will also apply for patients with cognitive disabilities resulting from other neurological and psychiatric syndromes.

Effects of lorazepam on visual perceptual abilities.

PubMed

Pompéia, S; Pradella-Hallinan, M; Manzano, G M; Bueno, O F A

2008-04-01

To evaluate the effects of an acute dose of the benzodiazepine (BZ) lorazepam in young healthy volunteers on five distinguishable visual perception abilities determined by previous factor-analytic studies. This was a double-blind, cross-over design study of acute oral doses of lorazepam (2 mg) and placebo in young healthy volunteers. We focused on a set of paper-and-pencil tests of visual perceptual abilities that load on five correlated but distinguishable factors (Spatial Visualization, Spatial Relations, Perceptual Speed, Closure Speed, and Closure Flexibility). Some other tests (DSST, immediate and delayed recall of prose; measures of subjective mood alterations) were used to control for the classic BZ-induced effects. Lorazepam impaired performance in the DSST and delayed recall of prose, increased subjective sedation and impaired tasks of all abilities except Spatial Visualization and Closure Speed. Only impairment in Perceptual Speed (Identical Pictures task) and delayed recall of prose were not explained by sedation. Acute administration of lorazepam, in a dose that impaired episodic memory, selectively affected different visual perceptual abilities before and after controlling for sedation. Central executive demands and sedation did not account for results, so impairment in the Identical Pictures task may be attributed to lorazepam's visual processing alterations. 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ten-Structure as Strategy of Addition 1-20 by Involving Spatial Structuring Ability for First Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salmah, Ummy; Putri, Ratu Ilma Indra; Somakim

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to design learning activities that can support students to develop strategies for the addition of number 1 to 20 in the first grade by involving students' spatial structuring ability. This study was conducted in Indonesia by involving 27 students. In this paper, one of three activities is discussed namely ten-box activity.…

The Comparison of the Visuo-Spatial Abilities of Dyslexic and Normal Students in Taiwan and Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Li-Chih; Yang, Hsien-Ming

2011-01-01

This study focused on a comparison of the visuo-spatial abilities (correct rate and speed) between dyslexic and normal students in Taiwan and Hong Kong. There were a total of 120 10-12 year old students. Thirty students had been diagnosed as dyslexic in Taiwan (T.W. dyslexia) and thirty students had been diagnosed as dyslexic in Hong Kong (H.K.…

The Intelligence of Observation: Improving High School Students' Spatial Ability by Means of Intervention Unit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patkin, Dorit; Dayan, Ester

2013-01-01

This case study of one class versus a control group focused on the impact of an intervention unit, which is not part of the regular curriculum, on the improvement of spatial ability of high school students (forty-six 12th-graders, aged 17-18, both boys and girls) in general as well as from a gender perspective. The study explored three…

The influence of camouflage, obstruction, familiarity and spatial ability on target identification from an unmanned ground vehicle.

PubMed

Fincannon, Thomas; Keebler, Joseph R; Jentsch, Florian; Curtis, Michael

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of environmental and cognitive factors on the identification of targets from an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). This was accomplished by manipulating obstruction, camouflage and familiarity of objects in the environment, while also measuring spatial ability. The effects of these variables on target identification were studied by measuring performance of participants that observed pre-recorded video from a 1:35 scaled military operations in urban terrain facility. Analyses indicated that a combination of camouflage and obstruction caused the most detrimental effects on performance, and that there were differences in the recognition of familiar and unfamiliar targets. Further analysis indicated that these detrimental effects could only be overcome with a combination of target familiarity and spatial ability. The findings highlight the degree to which environmental factors hinder performance and the need for a multidimensional approach for improving performance under these conditions. Areas in need of future research are also discussed. Cognitive theory is applied to the problem of perception from UGVs. Results from an experimental study indicate that a combination of camouflage and obstruction caused the most detrimental effects on performance, with differences in the recognition of both familiar and unfamiliar targets. Familiarity and spatial ability interacted to predict the performance.

The relationship between satellite-derived indices and species diversity across African savanna ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mapfumo, Ratidzo B.; Murwira, Amon; Masocha, Mhosisi; Andriani, R.

2016-10-01

The ability to use remotely sensed diversity is important for the management of ecosystems at large spatial extents. However, to achieve this, there is still need to develop robust methods and approaches that enable large-scale mapping of species diversity. In this study, we tested the relationship between species diversity measured in situ with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Coefficient of Variation in the NDVI (CVNDVI) derived from high and medium spatial resolution satellite data at dry, wet and coastal savanna woodlands. We further tested the effect of logging on NDVI along the transects and between transects as disturbance may be a mechanism driving the patterns observed. Overall, the results of this study suggest that high tree species diversity is associated with low and high NDVI and at intermediate levels is associated with low tree species diversity and NDVI. High tree species diversity is associated with high CVNDVI and vice versa and at intermediate levels is associated with high tree species diversity and CVNDVI.

Ecological Insights from Pelagic Habitats Acquired Using Active Acoustic Techniques.

PubMed

Benoit-Bird, Kelly J; Lawson, Gareth L

2016-01-01

Marine pelagic ecosystems present fascinating opportunities for ecological investigation but pose important methodological challenges for sampling. Active acoustic techniques involve producing sound and receiving signals from organisms and other water column sources, offering the benefit of high spatial and temporal resolution and, via integration into different platforms, the ability to make measurements spanning a range of spatial and temporal scales. As a consequence, a variety of questions concerning the ecology of pelagic systems lend themselves to active acoustics, ranging from organism-level investigations and physiological responses to the environment to ecosystem-level studies and climate. As technologies and data analysis methods have matured, the use of acoustics in ecological studies has grown rapidly. We explore the continued role of active acoustics in addressing questions concerning life in the ocean, highlight creative applications to key ecological themes ranging from physiology and behavior to biogeography and climate, and discuss emerging avenues where acoustics can help determine how pelagic ecosystems function.

Enhanced and diminished visuo-spatial information processing in autism depends on stimulus complexity.

PubMed

Bertone, Armando; Mottron, Laurent; Jelenic, Patricia; Faubert, Jocelyn

2005-10-01

Visuo-perceptual processing in autism is characterized by intact or enhanced performance on static spatial tasks and inferior performance on dynamic tasks, suggesting a deficit of dorsal visual stream processing in autism. However, previous findings by Bertone et al. indicate that neuro-integrative mechanisms used to detect complex motion, rather than motion perception per se, may be impaired in autism. We present here the first demonstration of concurrent enhanced and decreased performance in autism on the same visuo-spatial static task, wherein the only factor dichotomizing performance was the neural complexity required to discriminate grating orientation. The ability of persons with autism was found to be superior for identifying the orientation of simple, luminance-defined (or first-order) gratings but inferior for complex, texture-defined (or second-order) gratings. Using a flicker contrast sensitivity task, we demonstrated that this finding is probably not due to abnormal information processing at a sub-cortical level (magnocellular and parvocellular functioning). Together, these findings are interpreted as a clear indication of altered low-level perceptual information processing in autism, and confirm that the deficits and assets observed in autistic visual perception are contingent on the complexity of the neural network required to process a given type of visual stimulus. We suggest that atypical neural connectivity, resulting in enhanced lateral inhibition, may account for both enhanced and decreased low-level information processing in autism.

The comparison of the visuo-spatial abilities of dyslexic and normal students in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

PubMed

Wang, Li-Chih; Yang, Hsien-Ming

2011-01-01

This study focused on a comparison of the visuo-spatial abilities (correct rate and speed) between dyslexic and normal students in Taiwan and Hong Kong. There were a total of 120 10-12 year old students. Thirty students had been diagnosed as dyslexic in Taiwan (T.W. dyslexia) and thirty students had been diagnosed as dyslexic in Hong Kong (H.K. dyslexia). Overall, 30 of the Taiwanese participants (T.W. normal) and 30 of the Hong Kong participants (H.K. normal) had received no special education. Dyslexic individuals were diagnosed by the doctors' clinical determination. The material was designed using Autodesk 3ds Max. The participants rotated 3D figures by themselves to find a ball. The results indicated that there was very little difference between dyslexic and normal students. However, the most significant difference between dyslexic and normal student was answering speed, especially in the combined data and the male data. An one-way ANOVA test indicated that in terms of rate and answering speed there was no difference between the H.K. and the T.W. dyslexics. Similar results were also found for the students with normal reading abilities in T.W. and H.K. The criterions for defining the visuo-spatial abilities of dyslexia students appear to be similar in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In addition, there is no difference between students' visuo-spatial abilities even though Chinese literacy instructions differed in the two areas. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exposure to radiation accelerates normal brain aging and produces deficits in spatial learning and memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukitt-Hale, B.; Casadesus, G.; Carey, A.; Rabin, B. M.; Joseph, J. A.

Previous studies have shown that radiation exposure, particularly to particles of high energy and charge (HZE particles), produces deficits in spatial learning and memory. These adverse behavioral effects are similar to those seen in aged animals. It is possible that these shared effects may be produced by the same mechanism; oxidative stress damage to the central nervous system caused by an increased release of reactive oxygen species is likely responsible for the deficits seen in aging and following irradiation. Both aged and irradiated rats display cognitive impairment in tests of spatial learning and memory such as the Morris water maze and the radial arm maze. These rats have decrements in the ability to build spatial representations of the environment and they utilize non-spatial strategies to solve tasks. Furthermore, they show a lack of spatial preference, due to a decline in the ability to process or retain place (position of a goal with reference to a "map" provided by the configuration of numerous cues in the environment) information. These declines in spatial memory occur in measures dependent on both reference and working memory, and in the flexibility to reset mental images. These results show that irradiation with high-energy particles produces age-like decrements in cognitive behavior that may impair the ability of astronauts to perform critical tasks during long-term space travel beyond the magnetosphere. Supported by NASA Grants NAG9-1190 and NAG9-1529

Developmental gender differences in children in a virtual spatial memory task.

PubMed

León, Irene; Cimadevilla, José Manuel; Tascón, Laura

2014-07-01

Behavioral achievements are the product of brain maturation. During postnatal development, the medial temporal lobe completes its maturation, and children acquire new memory abilities. In recent years, virtual reality-based tasks have been introduced in the neuropsychology field to assess different cognitive functions. In this work, desktop virtual reality tasks are combined with classic psychometric tests to assess spatial abilities in 4- to 10-year-old children. Fifty boys and 50 girls 4-10-years of age participated in this study. Spatial reference memory and spatial working memory were assessed using a desktop virtual reality-based task. Other classic psychometric tests were also included in this work (e.g., the Corsi Block Tapping Test, digit tests, 10/36 Spatial Recall Test). In general terms, 4- and 5-year-old groups showed poorer performance than the older groups. However, 5-year-old children showed basic spatial navigation abilities with little difficulty. In addition, boys outperformed girls from the 6-8-year-old groups. Gender differences only emerged in the reference-memory version of the spatial task, whereas both sexes displayed similar performances in the working-memory version. There was general improvement in the performance of different tasks in children older than 5 years. However, results also suggest that brain regions involved in allocentric memory are functional even at the age of 5. In addition, the brain structures underlying reference memory mature later in girls than those required for the working memory.

Spectral characteristics and the extent of paleosols of the Palouse formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frazier, B. E.; Busacca, Alan; Cheng, Yaan; Wherry, David; Hart, Judy; Gill, Steve

1987-01-01

Three spectral models defining the spatial distribution of soil areas by levels of amorphous iron, organic carbon, and the ratio of amorphous iron to organic carbon were developed and field verification studies were conducted. The models used particular Thematic Mapper band ratios selected by statistical correlation with soil chemical data. The ability of the models to indicate erosion severity and to differentiate between iron enriched and carbonate paleosols is discussed. In addition, the effect of vegetation cover on paleosols is addressed.

Mozambican Student-Teachers' Perceptions of Developing Their Understanding of Teaching Spatially Dependent Geometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinis da Costa, Daniel

2014-01-01

This article presents student-teachers' perceptions of spatial 3D-descriptive geometry education in Mozambique. To interpret a 3D object through 2D projections and vice-versa requires spatial abilities that are deemed crucial for learning in any spatially dependent discipline such as 3D-descriptive geometry, engineering and technical-vocational…

Profile of biology prospective teachers’ representation on plant anatomy learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermayanti; Susanti, R.; Anwar, Y.

2018-04-01

This study aims to obtaining students’ representation ability in understanding the structure and function of plant tissues in plant anatomy course. Thirty students of The Biology Education Department of Sriwijaya University were involved in this study. Data on representation ability were collected using test and observation. The instruments had been validated by expert judgment. Test scores were used to represent students’ ability in 4 categories: 2D-image, 3D-image, spatial, and verbal representations. The results show that students’ representation ability is still low: 2D-image (40.0), 3D-image (25.0), spatial (20.0), and verbal representation (45.0). Based on the results of this study, it is suggested that instructional strategies be developed for plant anatomy course.

Students’ Errors in Geometry Viewed from Spatial Intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riastuti, N.; Mardiyana, M.; Pramudya, I.

2017-09-01

Geometry is one of the difficult materials because students must have ability to visualize, describe images, draw shapes, and know the kind of shapes. This study aim is to describe student error based on Newmans’ Error Analysis in solving geometry problems viewed from spatial intelligence. This research uses descriptive qualitative method by using purposive sampling technique. The datas in this research are the result of geometri material test and interview by the 8th graders of Junior High School in Indonesia. The results of this study show that in each category of spatial intelligence has a different type of error in solving the problem on the material geometry. Errors are mostly made by students with low spatial intelligence because they have deficiencies in visual abilities. Analysis of student error viewed from spatial intelligence is expected to help students do reflection in solving the problem of geometry.

Enhancing the visuo-spatial aptitude of students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lord, Thomas R.

Research to date has not been able to agree whether visuo-spatial ability can be influenced through practice. Many have concluded that spatial awareness is an innate phenomena and cannot be learned. Others contend that an individual's visuo-spatial potentials are acquired through interactions with the environment. Many of these theorists believe that spatial thinking can be developed through interactive exercises devised to encourage mental image formation and manipulation. To help alleviate the confusion surrounding this question the following study was undertaken. Eighty-four college undergraduates were randomly placed into control and experimental sections. Student records were examined to assure that the groups did not differ significantly in their verbal or math proficiency and pertinent pretests were given to ascertain spatial levels. The groups were also similar on their male and female ratios. During the semester the experimental section was treated to a 30-minute interaction each week. These sessions involved spatial exercises that required the participants to mentally bisect three-dimensional geometric figures and to envision the shape of the two-dimensional surface formed by the bisection. The subjects drew their mental image of this surface on a sheet of paper. Fourteen weeks later both groups were post tested with a second comparable version of the pretest. Statistical t tests were performed on the group means to see if significant differences developed between the sections. The results indicate that statistical improvement in visuo-spatial cognition did occur for the experimental group in spatial visualization, and spatial orientation. This finding suggests that the weekly intervention sessions had a positive effect on the students' visuo-spatial awareness. These results, therefore, tend to support those researchers that claim visuo-spatial aptitude can be enhanced through teaching.

Reference ability neural networks and behavioral performance across the adult life span.

PubMed

Habeck, Christian; Eich, Teal; Razlighi, Ray; Gazes, Yunglin; Stern, Yaakov

2018-05-15

To better understand the impact of aging, along with other demographic and brain health variables, on the neural networks that support different aspects of cognitive performance, we applied a brute-force search technique based on Principal Components Analysis to derive 4 corresponding spatial covariance patterns (termed Reference Ability Neural Networks -RANNs) from a large sample of participants across the age range. 255 clinically healthy, community-dwelling adults, aged 20-77, underwent fMRI while performing 12 tasks, 3 tasks for each of the following cognitive reference abilities: Episodic Memory, Reasoning, Perceptual Speed, and Vocabulary. The derived RANNs (1) showed selective activation to their specific cognitive domain and (2) correlated with behavioral performance. Quasi out-of-sample replication with Monte-Carlo 5-fold cross validation was built into our approach, and all patterns indicated their corresponding reference ability and predicted performance in held-out data to a degree significantly greater than chance level. RANN-pattern expression for Episodic Memory, Reasoning and Vocabulary were associated selectively with age, while the pattern for Perceptual Speed showed no such age-related influences. For each participant we also looked at residual activity unaccounted for by the RANN-pattern derived for the cognitive reference ability. Higher residual activity was associated with poorer brain-structural health and older age, but -apart from Vocabulary-not with cognitive performance, indicating that older participants with worse brain-structural health might recruit alternative neural resources to maintain performance levels. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dispersal Ability Determines the Role of Environmental, Spatial and Temporal Drivers of Metacommunity Structure

PubMed Central

Padial, André A.; Ceschin, Fernanda; Declerck, Steven A. J.; De Meester, Luc; Bonecker, Cláudia C.; Lansac-Tôha, Fabio A.; Rodrigues, Liliana; Rodrigues, Luzia C.; Train, Sueli; Velho, Luiz F. M.; Bini, Luis M.

2014-01-01

Recently, community ecologists are focusing on the relative importance of local environmental factors and proxies to dispersal limitation to explain spatial variation in community structure. Albeit less explored, temporal processes may also be important in explaining species composition variation in metacommunities occupying dynamic systems. We aimed to evaluate the relative role of environmental, spatial and temporal variables on the metacommunity structure of different organism groups in the Upper Paraná River floodplain (Brazil). We used data on macrophytes, fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, periphyton, and phytoplankton collected in up to 36 habitats during a total of eight sampling campaigns over two years. According to variation partitioning results, the importance of predictors varied among biological groups. Spatial predictors were particularly important for organisms with comparatively lower dispersal ability, such as aquatic macrophytes and fish. On the other hand, environmental predictors were particularly important for organisms with high dispersal ability, such as microalgae, indicating the importance of species sorting processes in shaping the community structure of these organisms. The importance of watercourse distances increased when spatial variables were the main predictors of metacommunity structure. The contribution of temporal predictors was low. Our results emphasize the strength of a trait-based analysis and of better defining spatial variables. More importantly, they supported the view that “all-or- nothing” interpretations on the mechanisms structuring metacommunities are rather the exception than the rule. PMID:25340577

LiDAR based prediction of forest biomass using hierarchical models with spatially varying coefficients

USGS Publications Warehouse

Babcock, Chad; Finley, Andrew O.; Bradford, John B.; Kolka, Randall K.; Birdsey, Richard A.; Ryan, Michael G.

2015-01-01

Many studies and production inventory systems have shown the utility of coupling covariates derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data with forest variables measured on georeferenced inventory plots through regression models. The objective of this study was to propose and assess the use of a Bayesian hierarchical modeling framework that accommodates both residual spatial dependence and non-stationarity of model covariates through the introduction of spatial random effects. We explored this objective using four forest inventory datasets that are part of the North American Carbon Program, each comprising point-referenced measures of above-ground forest biomass and discrete LiDAR. For each dataset, we considered at least five regression model specifications of varying complexity. Models were assessed based on goodness of fit criteria and predictive performance using a 10-fold cross-validation procedure. Results showed that the addition of spatial random effects to the regression model intercept improved fit and predictive performance in the presence of substantial residual spatial dependence. Additionally, in some cases, allowing either some or all regression slope parameters to vary spatially, via the addition of spatial random effects, further improved model fit and predictive performance. In other instances, models showed improved fit but decreased predictive performance—indicating over-fitting and underscoring the need for cross-validation to assess predictive ability. The proposed Bayesian modeling framework provided access to pixel-level posterior predictive distributions that were useful for uncertainty mapping, diagnosing spatial extrapolation issues, revealing missing model covariates, and discovering locally significant parameters.

IQ as moderator of terminal decline in perceptual and motor speed, spatial, and verbal ability: Testing the cognitive reserve hypothesis in a population-based sample followed from age 70 until death.

PubMed

Thorvaldsson, Valgeir; Skoog, Ingmar; Johansson, Boo

2017-03-01

Terminal decline (TD) refers to acceleration in within-person cognitive decline prior to death. The cognitive reserve hypothesis postulates that individuals with higher IQ are able to better tolerate age-related increase in brain pathologies. On average, they will exhibit a later onset of TD, but once they start to decline, their trajectory is steeper relative to those with lower IQ. We tested these predictions using data from initially nondemented individuals (n = 179) in the H70-study repeatedly measured at ages 70, 75, 79, 81, 85, 88, 90, 92, 95, 97, 99, and 100, or until death, on cognitive tests of perceptual-and-motor-speed and spatial and verbal ability. We quantified IQ using the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) test administrated at age 70. We fitted random change point TD models to the data, within a Bayesian framework, conditioned on IQ, age of death, education, and sex. In line with predictions, we found that 1 additional standard deviation on the IQ scale was associated with a delay in onset of TD by 1.87 (95% highest density interval [HDI; 0.20, 4.08]) years on speed, 1.96 (95% HDI [0.15, 3.54]) years on verbal ability, but only 0.88 (95% HDI [-0.93, 3.49]) year on spatial ability. Higher IQ was associated with steeper rate of decline within the TD phase on measures of speed and verbal ability, whereas results on spatial ability were nonconclusive. Our findings provide partial support for the cognitive reserve hypothesis and demonstrate that IQ can be a significant moderator of cognitive change trajectories in old age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

An Investigation of Cognitive Skills and Behavior in High Ability Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alloway, Tracy Packiam; Elsworth, Miquela

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive and behavioral profiles of high ability students. Performance on measures of verbal and visuo-spatial working memory and general ability (vocabulary and block design) was compared across the following groups: high, average, and low ability students. The behavioral profile of high ability…

Immigrant residential segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas, 1990-2000.

PubMed

Iceland, John; Scopilliti, Melissa

2008-02-01

This paper examines the extent of spatial assimilation among immigrants of different racial and ethnic origins. We use restricted data from the 1990 and 2000 censuses to calculate the levels of dissimilarity by race and Hispanic origin, nativity, and year of entry, and then run multivariate models to examine these relationships. The findings provide broad support for spatial assimilation theory. Foreign-born Hispanics, Asians, and blacks are more segregated from native-born non-Hispanic whites than are the U.S.-born of these groups. The patterns for Hispanics and Asians can be explained by the average characteristics of the foreign-born that are generally associated with higher levels of segregation, such as lower levels of income, English language ability, and home ownership. We also find that immigrants who have been in the United States for longer periods are generally less segregated than new arrivals, and once again, much of this difference can be attributed to the characteristics of immigrants. However, patterns also vary across groups. Levels of segregation are much higher for black immigrants than for Asian, Hispanic, and white immigrants. In addition, because black immigrants are, on average, of higher socioeconomic status than native-born blacks, such characteristics do not help explain their very high levels of segregation.

Electrolytic lesions of dorsal CA3 impair episodic-like memory in rats.

PubMed

Li, Jay-Shake; Chao, Yuen-Shin

2008-02-01

Episodic memory is the ability to recollect one's past experiences occurring in an unique spatial and temporal context. In non-human animals, it is expressed in the ability to combine "what", "where" and "when" factors to form an integrated memory system. During the search for its neural substrates, the hippocampus has attracted a lot of attentions. Yet, it is not yet possible to induce a pure episodic-like memory deficit in animal studies without being confounded by impairments in the spatial cognition. Here, we present a lesion study evidencing direct links between the hippocampus CA3 region and the episodic-like memory in rats. In a spontaneous object exploration task, lesioned rats showed no interaction between the temporal and spatial elements in their memory associated with the objects. In separate tests carried out subsequently, the same animals still expressed abilities to process spatial, temporal, and object recognition memory. In conclusions, our results support the idea that the hippocampus CA3 has a particular status in the neural mechanism of the episodic-like memory system. It is responsible for combining information from different modules of cognitive processes.

The Applications of Model-Based Geostatistics in Helminth Epidemiology and Control

PubMed Central

Magalhães, Ricardo J. Soares; Clements, Archie C.A.; Patil, Anand P.; Gething, Peter W.; Brooker, Simon

2011-01-01

Funding agencies are dedicating substantial resources to tackle helminth infections. Reliable maps of the distribution of helminth infection can assist these efforts by targeting control resources to areas of greatest need. The ability to define the distribution of infection at regional, national and subnational levels has been enhanced greatly by the increased availability of good quality survey data and the use of model-based geostatistics (MBG), enabling spatial prediction in unsampled locations. A major advantage of MBG risk mapping approaches is that they provide a flexible statistical platform for handling and representing different sources of uncertainty, providing plausible and robust information on the spatial distribution of infections to inform the design and implementation of control programmes. Focussing on schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, with additional examples for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, we review the progress made to date with the application of MBG tools in large-scale, real-world control programmes and propose a general framework for their application to inform integrative spatial planning of helminth disease control programmes. PMID:21295680

Spatial serial order processing in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Fraser, David; Park, Sohee; Clark, Gina; Yohanna, Daniel; Houk, James C

2004-10-01

The aim of this study was to examine serial order processing deficits in 21 schizophrenia patients and 16 age- and education-matched healthy controls. In a spatial serial order working memory task, one to four spatial targets were presented in a randomized sequence. Subjects were required to remember the locations and the order in which the targets were presented. Patients showed a marked deficit in ability to remember the sequences compared with controls. Increasing the number of targets within a sequence resulted in poorer memory performance for both control and schizophrenia subjects, but the effect was much more pronounced in the patients. Targets presented at the end of a long sequence were more vulnerable to memory error in schizophrenia patients. Performance deficits were not attributable to motor errors, but to errors in target choice. The results support the idea that the memory errors seen in schizophrenia patients may be due to saturating the working memory network at relatively low levels of memory load.

Training spatial skills in men and women.

PubMed

Cherney, Isabelle D; Bersted, Kyle; Smetter, Joseph

2014-08-01

Recent studies suggest that even short-term video game training may transfer to other cognitive tasks. With the popularity of the Nintendo Wii with women, more of them might be exposed to the games that will increase their mental rotation skills. Because performance on mental rotation tests (MRT) has been linked to math performance in women, and thus may ultimately contribute to the under representation of women in STEM fields, it is important to continue to explore ways to decrease or eliminate the robust sex difference in mental rotation. The present study of 30 men and 30 women provides additional evidence that women may benefit from short-term (1 hour) training on either a Nintendo Wii™ or GameCube console to increase their mental rotation skills. One hour of video game training not only increased women's MRT scores to a level similar to men's scores, but also produced greater average improvement for women, even when controlling for experiential factors such as spatial and masculine childhood activities that could contribute to the sex difference in spatial ability.

2010 Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Biological Physics Talk: How the Genome Folds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lieberman-Aiden, Erez

2011-03-01

I describe Hi-C, a novel technology for probing the three-dimensional architecture of whole genomes by coupling proximity-based ligation with massively parallel sequencing. Working with collaborators at the Broad Institute and UMass Medical School, we used Hi-C to construct spatial proximity maps of the human genome at a resolution of 1Mb. These maps confirm the presence of chromosome territories and the spatial proximity of small, gene-rich chromosomes. We identified an additional level of genome organization that is characterized by the spatial segregation of open and closed chromatin to form two genome-wide compartments. At the megabase scale, the chromatin conformation is consistent with a fractal globule, a knot-free conformation that enables maximally dense packing while preserving the ability to easily fold and unfold any genomic locus. The fractal globule is distinct from the more commonly used globular equilibrium model. Our results demonstrate the power of Hi-C to map the dynamic conformations of whole genomes.

The Effectiveness of Interacting with Scientific Animations in Chemistry Using Mobile Devices on Grade 12 Students' Spatial Ability and Scientific Reasoning Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.; Al-Musawi, Ali S.; Ambusaidi, Abdullah K.; Al-Hajri, Fatemah H.

2017-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of interacting with animations using mobile devices on grade 12 students' spatial and reasoning abilities. The study took place in a grade 12 context in Oman. A quasi-experimental design was used with an experimental group of 32 students and a control group of 28 students. The…

Making Space for Spatial Proportions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Percival G.; Hubbard, Edward M.

2017-01-01

The three target articles presented in this special issue converged on an emerging theme: the importance of spatial proportional reasoning. They suggest that the ability to map between symbolic fractions (like 1/5) and nonsymbolic, spatial representations of their sizes or "magnitudes" may be especially important for building robust…

A neurobehavioral examination of individuals with high-functioning autism and Asperger's disorder using a fronto-striatal model of dysfunction.

PubMed

Rinehart, Nicole J; Bradshaw, John L; Tonge, Bruce J; Brereton, Avril V; Bellgrove, Mark A

2002-06-01

The repetitive, stereotyped, and obsessive behaviors that characterize autism may in part be attributable to disruption of the region of the fronto-striatal system, which mediates executive abilities. Neuropsychological testing has shown that children with autism exhibit set-shifting deficiencies on tests such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting task but show normal inhibitory ability on variants of the Stroop color-word test. According to Minshew and Goldstein's multiple primary deficit theory, the complexity of the executive functioning task is important in determining the performance of individuals with autism. This study employed a visual-spatial task (with a Stroop-type component) to examine the integrity of executive functioning, in particular inhibition, in autism (n = 12) and Asperger's disorder (n = 12) under increasing levels of cognitive complexity. Whereas the Asperger's disorder group performed similarly to age- and IQ-matched control participants, even at the higher levels of cognitive complexity, the high-functioning autism group displayed inhibitory deficits specifically associated with increasing cognitive load.

Improving working memory abilities in individuals with Down syndrome: a treatment case study

PubMed Central

Costa, Hiwet Mariam; Purser, Harry R. M.; Passolunghi, Maria Chiara

2015-01-01

Working memory (WM) skills of individuals with Down’s syndrome (DS) tend to be very poor compared to typically developing children of similar mental age. In particular, research has found that in individuals with DS visuo-spatial WM is better preserved than verbal WM. This study investigated whether it is possible to train short-term memory (STM) and WM abilities in individuals with DS. The cases of two teenage children are reported: EH, 17 years and 3 months, and AS, 15 years and 11 months. A school-based treatment targeting visuo-spatial WM was given to EH and AS for six weeks. Both prior to and after the treatment, they completed a set of assessments to measure WM abilities and their performance was compared with younger typically developing non-verbal mental age controls. The results showed that the trained participants improved their performance in some of the trained and non-trained WM tasks proposed, especially with regard to the tasks assessing visuo-spatial WM abilities. These findings are discussed on the basis of their theoretical, educational, and clinical implications. PMID:26441713

Characterizing local variability in long‐period horizontal tilt noise

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rohde, M.D.; Ringler, Adam; Hutt, Charles R.; Wilson, David; Holland, Austin; Sandoval, L.D; Storm, Tyler

2017-01-01

Horizontal seismic data are dominated by atmospherically induced tilt noise at long periods (i.e., 30 s and greater). Tilt noise limits our ability to use horizontal data for sensitive seismological studies such as observing free earth modes. To better understand the local spatial variability of long‐period horizontal noise, we observe horizontal noise during quiet time periods in the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) underground vault using four small‐aperture array configurations. Each array comprises eight Streckeisen STS‐2 broadband seismometers. We analyze the spectral content of the data using power spectral density and magnitude‐squared coherence (γ2‐coherence). Our results show a high degree of spatial variability and frequency dependence in the long‐period horizontal wavefield. The variable nature of long‐period horizontal noise in the ASL vault suggests that it might be highly local in nature and not easily characterized by simple physical models when overall noise levels are low, making it difficult to identify locations in the vault with lower horizontal noise. This variability could be limiting our ability to apply coherence analysis for estimating horizontal sensor self‐noise and could also complicate various indirect methods for removing long‐period horizontal noise (e.g., collocated rotational sensor or microbarograph).

Blood Glucose, Diet-Based Glycemic Load and Cognitive Aging Among Dementia-Free Older Adults

PubMed Central

Andel, Ross; McEvoy, Cathy; Dahl Aslan, Anna K.; Finkel, Deborah; Pedersen, Nancy L.

2015-01-01

Background. Although evidence indicates that Type II Diabetes is related to abnormal brain aging, the influence of elevated blood glucose on long-term cognitive change is unclear. In addition, the relationship between diet-based glycemic load and cognitive aging has not been extensively studied. The focus of this study was to investigate the influence of diet-based glycemic load and blood glucose on cognitive aging in older adults followed for up to 16 years. Methods. Eight-hundred and thirty-eight cognitively healthy adults aged ≥50 years (M = 63.1, SD = 8.3) from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging were studied. Mixed effects growth models were utilized to assess overall performance and change in general cognitive functioning, perceptual speed, memory, verbal ability, and spatial ability as a function of baseline blood glucose and diet-based glycemic load. Results. High blood glucose was related to poorer overall performance on perceptual speed as well as greater rates of decline in general cognitive ability, perceptual speed, verbal ability, and spatial ability. Diet-based glycemic load was related to poorer overall performance in perceptual speed and spatial ability. Conclusion. Diet-based glycemic load and, in particular, elevated blood glucose appear important for cognitive performance/cognitive aging. Blood glucose control (perhaps through low glycemic load diets) may be an important target in the detection and prevention of age-related cognitive decline. PMID:25149688

Binaural speech processing in individuals with auditory neuropathy.

PubMed

Rance, G; Ryan, M M; Carew, P; Corben, L A; Yiu, E; Tan, J; Delatycki, M B

2012-12-13

Auditory neuropathy disrupts the neural representation of sound and may therefore impair processes contingent upon inter-aural integration. The aims of this study were to investigate binaural auditory processing in individuals with axonal (Friedreich ataxia) and demyelinating (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A) auditory neuropathy and to evaluate the relationship between the degree of auditory deficit and overall clinical severity in patients with neuropathic disorders. Twenty-three subjects with genetically confirmed Friedreich ataxia and 12 subjects with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A underwent psychophysical evaluation of basic auditory processing (intensity discrimination/temporal resolution) and binaural speech perception assessment using the Listening in Spatialized Noise test. Age, gender and hearing-level-matched controls were also tested. Speech perception in noise for individuals with auditory neuropathy was abnormal for each listening condition, but was particularly affected in circumstances where binaural processing might have improved perception through spatial segregation. Ability to use spatial cues was correlated with temporal resolution suggesting that the binaural-processing deficit was the result of disordered representation of timing cues in the left and right auditory nerves. Spatial processing was also related to overall disease severity (as measured by the Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy Score) suggesting that the degree of neural dysfunction in the auditory system accurately reflects generalized neuropathic changes. Measures of binaural speech processing show promise for application in the neurology clinic. In individuals with auditory neuropathy due to both axonal and demyelinating mechanisms the assessment provides a measure of functional hearing ability, a biomarker capable of tracking the natural history of progressive disease and a potential means of evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An augmented reality tool for learning spatial anatomy on mobile devices.

PubMed

Jain, Nishant; Youngblood, Patricia; Hasel, Matthew; Srivastava, Sakti

2017-09-01

Augmented Realty (AR) offers a novel method of blending virtual and real anatomy for intuitive spatial learning. Our first aim in the study was to create a prototype AR tool for mobile devices. Our second aim was to complete a technical evaluation of our prototype AR tool focused on measuring the system's ability to accurately render digital content in the real world. We imported Computed Tomography (CT) data derived virtual surface models into a 3D Unity engine environment and implemented an AR algorithm to display these on mobile devices. We investigated the accuracy of the virtual renderings by comparing a physical cube with an identical virtual cube for dimensional accuracy. Our comparative study confirms that our AR tool renders 3D virtual objects with a high level of accuracy as evidenced by the degree of similarity between measurements of the dimensions of a virtual object (a cube) and the corresponding physical object. We developed an inexpensive and user-friendly prototype AR tool for mobile devices that creates highly accurate renderings. This prototype demonstrates an intuitive, portable, and integrated interface for spatial interaction with virtual anatomical specimens. Integrating this AR tool with a library of CT derived surface models provides a platform for spatial learning in the anatomy curriculum. The segmentation methodology implemented to optimize human CT data for mobile viewing can be extended to include anatomical variations and pathologies. The ability of this inexpensive educational platform to deliver a library of interactive, 3D models to students worldwide demonstrates its utility as a supplemental teaching tool that could greatly benefit anatomical instruction. Clin. Anat. 30:736-741, 2017. © 2017Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An investigation of immune system disorder as a "marker" for anomalous dominance.

PubMed

Rich, D A; McKeever, W F

1990-01-01

Geschwind and Galaburda (1987) proposed that immune disorder (ID) susceptibility, along with left handedness and familial sinistrality (FS), is a "marker" for anomalous dominance. The theory predicts lesser left lateralization for language processes, lessened left hemisphere abilities, and enhanced right hemisphere abilities. We assessed language laterality (dichotic consonant vowel task) and performances on spatial and verbal tasks. Subjects were 128 college students. The factors of handedness, sex, FS, and immune disorder history (negative or positive) were perfectly counterbalanced. Left-handers were significantly less lateralized for language and scored lower than right-handers on the spatial tasks. Females scored lower on mental rotation than males, but performed comparably to males on the spatial relations task. The only effect of ID was by way of interaction with FS on both spatial tasks--subjects who were either negative or positive on both FS and ID status factors scored significantly higher than subjects negative for one but positive for the other factor. A speculative explanatory model for this interaction was proposed. The model incorporates the notion that FS and ID factors are comparably correlated, but in opposite directions, with hormonal factors implicated by other research as relevant for spatial ability differences. Finally, no support for the "anomalous dominance" hypothesis predictions was found.

Age-Related Differences and Cognitive Correlates of Self-Reported and Direct Navigation Performance: The Effect of Real and Virtual Test Conditions Manipulation

PubMed Central

Taillade, Mathieu; N'Kaoua, Bernard; Sauzéon, Hélène

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the effect of aging on direct navigation measures and self-reported ones according to the real-virtual test manipulation. Navigation (wayfinding tasks) and spatial memory (paper-pencil tasks) performances, obtained either in real-world or in virtual-laboratory test conditions, were compared between young (n = 32) and older (n = 32) adults who had self-rated their everyday navigation behavior (SBSOD scale). Real age-related differences were observed in navigation tasks as well as in paper-pencil tasks, which investigated spatial learning relative to the distinction between survey-route knowledge. The manipulation of test conditions (real vs. virtual) did not change these age-related differences, which are mostly explained by age-related decline in both spatial abilities and executive functioning (measured with neuropsychological tests). In contrast, elderly adults did not differ from young adults in their self-reporting relative to everyday navigation, suggesting some underestimation of navigation difficulties by elderly adults. Also, spatial abilities in young participants had a mediating effect on the relations between actual and self-reported navigation performance, but not for older participants. So, it is assumed that the older adults carried out the navigation task with fewer available spatial abilities compared to young adults, resulting in inaccurate self-estimates. PMID:26834666

Age-Related Differences and Cognitive Correlates of Self-Reported and Direct Navigation Performance: The Effect of Real and Virtual Test Conditions Manipulation.

PubMed

Taillade, Mathieu; N'Kaoua, Bernard; Sauzéon, Hélène

2015-01-01

The present study investigated the effect of aging on direct navigation measures and self-reported ones according to the real-virtual test manipulation. Navigation (wayfinding tasks) and spatial memory (paper-pencil tasks) performances, obtained either in real-world or in virtual-laboratory test conditions, were compared between young (n = 32) and older (n = 32) adults who had self-rated their everyday navigation behavior (SBSOD scale). Real age-related differences were observed in navigation tasks as well as in paper-pencil tasks, which investigated spatial learning relative to the distinction between survey-route knowledge. The manipulation of test conditions (real vs. virtual) did not change these age-related differences, which are mostly explained by age-related decline in both spatial abilities and executive functioning (measured with neuropsychological tests). In contrast, elderly adults did not differ from young adults in their self-reporting relative to everyday navigation, suggesting some underestimation of navigation difficulties by elderly adults. Also, spatial abilities in young participants had a mediating effect on the relations between actual and self-reported navigation performance, but not for older participants. So, it is assumed that the older adults carried out the navigation task with fewer available spatial abilities compared to young adults, resulting in inaccurate self-estimates.

Effect of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on digital working memory and spatial localization in a healthy Chinese Han population.

PubMed

Gong, Pingyuan; Zheng, Anyun; Chen, Dongmei; Ge, Wanhua; Lv, Changchao; Zhang, Kejin; Gao, Xiaocai; Zhang, Fuchang

2009-07-01

Cognitive abilities are complex human traits influenced by genetic factors. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a unique polypeptide growth factor, has an influence on the differentiation and survival of neurons in the nervous system. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs6265) in the human gene, resulting in a valine to methionine substitution in the pro-BDNF protein, was thought to associate with psychiatric disorders and might play roles in the individual difference of cognitive abilities. However, the specific roles of the gene in cognition remain unclear. To investigate the relationships between the substitution and cognitive abilities, a healthy population-based study and the PCR-SSCP method were performed. The results showed the substitution was associated with digital working memory (p = 0.02) and spatial localization (p = 0.03), but not with inhibition, shifting, updating, visuo-spatial working memory, long-term memory, and others (p > 0.05) among the compared genotype groups analyzed by general linear model. On the other hand, the participants with BDNF (GG) had higher average performance in digital working memory and spatial localization than the ones with BDNF (AA). The findings of the present work implied that the variation in BDNF might play positive roles in human digital working memory and spatial localization.

Eyetracking metrics reveal impaired spatial anticipation in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia.

PubMed

Primativo, Silvia; Clark, Camilla; Yong, Keir X X; Firth, Nicholas C; Nicholas, Jennifer; Alexander, Daniel; Warren, Jason D; Rohrer, Jonathan D; Crutch, Sebastian J

2017-11-01

Eyetracking technology has had limited application in the dementia field to date, with most studies attempting to discriminate syndrome subgroups on the basis of basic oculomotor functions rather than higher-order cognitive abilities. Eyetracking-based tasks may also offer opportunities to reduce or ameliorate problems associated with standard paper-and-pencil cognitive tests such as the complexity and linguistic demands of verbal test instructions, and the problems of tiredness and attention associated with lengthy tasks that generate few data points at a slow rate. In the present paper we adapted the Brixton spatial anticipation test to a computerized instruction-less version where oculomotor metrics, rather than overt verbal responses, were taken into account as indicators of high level cognitive functions. Twelve bvFTD (in whom spatial anticipation deficits were expected), six SD patients (in whom deficits were predicted to be less frequent) and 38 healthy controls were presented with a 10 × 7 matrix of white circles. During each trial (N = 24) a black dot moved across seven positions on the screen, following 12 different patterns. Participants' eye movements were recorded. Frequentist statistical analysis of standard eye movement metrics were complemented by a Bayesian machine learning (ML) approach in which raw eyetracking time series datasets were examined to explore the ability to discriminate diagnostic group performance not only on the overall performance but also on individual trials. The original pen and paper Brixton test identified a spatial anticipation deficit in 7/12 (58%) of bvFTD and in 2/6 (33%) of SD patients. The eyetracking frequentist approach reported the deficit in 11/12 (92%) of bvFTD and in none (0%) of the SD patients. The machine learning approach had the main advantage of identifying significant differences from controls in 24/24 individual trials for bvFTD patients and in only 12/24 for SD patients. Results indicate that the fine grained rich datasets obtained from eyetracking metrics can inform us about high level cognitive functions in dementia, such as spatial anticipation. The ML approach can help identify conditions where subtle deficits are present and, potentially, contribute to test optimisation and the reduction of testing times. The absence of instructions also favoured a better distinction between different clinical groups of patients and can help provide valuable disease-specific markers. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Assessing the mental frame syncing in the elderly: a virtual reality protocol.

PubMed

Serino, Silvia; Cipresso, Pietro; Gaggioli, Andrea; Riva, Giuseppe

2014-01-01

Decline in spatial memory in the elderly is often underestimated, and it is crucial to fully investigate the cognitive underpinnings of early spatial impairment. A virtual reality-based procedure was developed to assess deficit in the "mental frame syncing", namely the cognitive ability that allows an effective orientation by synchronizing the allocentric view-point independent representation with the allocentric view-point dependent representation. A pilot study was carried out to evaluate abilities in the mental frame syncing in a sample of 16 elderly participants. Preliminary results indicated that the general cognitive functioning was associated with the ability in the synchronization between these two allocentric references frames.

Where Is the Square? Activities to Stimulate Spatial Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Obara, Samuel

2013-01-01

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1989, 2000) and the new "Australian Curriculum: Mathematics" for senior secondary (ACARA, 2010) highlight the importance of teaching spatial reasoning as early as preschool when mathematics is introduced. Studies have shown that there is a relationship between spatial abilities and…

Think3d!: Training Spatial Thinking Fundamental to STEM Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Holly A.; Hutton, Allyson

2013-01-01

This article describes the initial implementation of an innovative program for elementary-age children involving origami and pop-up paper engineering to promote visuospatial thinking. While spatial ability measures correlate with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) success, a focus on spatial thinking is all but missing in elementary…

Protective effect of a phenolic extract containing indoline amides from Portulaca oleracea against cognitive impairment in senescent mice induced by large dose of D-galactose /NaNO2.

PubMed

Wang, Peipei; Sun, Hongxiang; Liu, Dianyu; Jiao, Zezhao; Yue, Su; He, Xiuquan; Xia, Wen; Ji, Jianbo; Xiang, Lan

2017-05-05

Portulaca oleracea L. is a potherb and also a widely used traditional Chinese medicine. In accordance with its nickname "longevity vegetable", pharmacological study demonstrated that this plant possessed antioxidant, anti-aging, and cognition-improvement function. Active principles pertaining to these functions of P. oleracea need to be elucidated. The present study evaluated the effect of a phenolic extract (PAAs) from P. oleracea which contained specific antioxidant indoline amides on cognitive impairment in senescent mice. PAAs was prepared through AB-8 macroporous resin column chromatography. Total phenol content was determined using colorimetric method, and contents of indoline amides were determined using HPLC-UV method. Senescent Kunming mice with cognitive dysfunction were established by intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose (D-gal, 1250mg/kg/day) and NaNO 2 (90mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks, L-PAAs (360mg/kg/day), H-PAAs (720mg/kg/day), and nootropic drug piracetam (PA, 400mg/kg/day) as the positive control were orally administered. Spatial learning and memory abilities were evaluated by Morris water maze experiment. Activities of AChE, SOD, CAT, and levels of GSH and MDA in the brain or plasma were measured. Hippocampal morphology was observed by HE staining. Chronic treatment of large dose of D-gal/NaNO 2 significantly reduced lifespan, elevated AChE activity, decreased CAT activity, compensatorily up-regulated SOD activity and GSH level, increased MDA level, induced neuronal damage in hippocampal CA1, CA3 and CA4 regions, and impaired cognitive function. Similar to PA, PAAs prolonged the lifespan and improved spatial memory ability. Moreover, PAAs improved learning ability. H-PAAs significantly reversed compensatory increase in SOD activity to the normal level, elevated serum CAT activity, and reduced MDA levels in brain and plasma, more potent than L-PAAs. Besides these, PAAs evidently inhibited hippocampal neuronal damage. However, it had no effect on brain AChE activity. PAAs as the bioactive principles of P. oleracea attenuated oxidative stress, improved survival rate, and enhanced cognitive function in D-gal/NaNO 2 -induced senile mice, similar to piracetam. This phenolic extract provides a promising candidate for prevention of aging and aging-related cognitive dysfunction in clinic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.