Affiliations: Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, Istituto
Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy | Institute of Psychology and Sociology of
Communication, University of Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland | Department of Human Science, University of Bergamo,
Bergamo, Italy | Department of Neurological Science, University of
Milan, Milan, Italy | Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Turin,
Italy
Note: [] Corresponding author: Francesca Morganti, PhD, Applied
Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Via G.
Pelizza da Volpedo, 41, I-20149 Milan, Italy. Tel./Fax: +39 02 619112892;
E-mail: francesca.morganti@auxologico.it
Abstract: Due to their interactivity and to the sense of presence they afford,
virtual environments constitute an interesting opportunity to study spatial
cognition. In accordance with this perspective, we aimed to introduce a spatial
test in virtual simulation in order to investigate the survey spatial ability
in patients with topographical disorientation. To do this, we used the
"planning in advance task" in a virtual environment that constitutes an
effective procedure to experimentally evaluate survey maps. With this procedure
we present the single case of a woman, with a right medial temporal lobe
lesion, who shows a selective impairment in the acquisition of new spatial
relationships. The patient's performance in "planning in advance task" was
compared with that of a control group made up of 40 female subjects matched for
age and education. Results show how the patient revealed a significantly lower
spatial performance when compared to the control group, demonstrating an
inability to solve survey-type spatial tasks in complex virtual
environments.
Keywords: Spatial cognition, topographical disorientation, virtual reality, planning in advance
