title: Cognitive correlates of spatial navigation: Associations between executive functioning and the virtual Morris Water Task.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States. Electronic address: korthau2@uwm.edu.
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Korthauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States; Department of Psychology, The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN, United States.
authors.forename: N T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frahmand
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Driscoll
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Executive functioning; Memory; Place learning; Sex difference; Virtual navigation