The role of mental rotation and age in spatial perspective‐taking tasks: when age does not impair perspective‐taking performance

The relationship between self‐evaluation of sense of direction, mental rotation, and performance in map learning and pointing tasks has been investigated in a life‐span perspective. Study 1 compared younger and older people in the Mental Rotation Test (MRT) and on the Sense of Direction and Spatial Representation (SDSR) Scale. Older people achieved higher scores on the SDSR Scale, but a lower performance in MRT compared with younger participants. In Study 2, groups of younger and older adults, one of each, were matched in the MRT, and pointing tasks in aligned and counter‐aligned perspectives were administered. Our results showed that, when so matched, older participants performed better than the younger counterparts in perspective‐taking tasks, but their performance was worse in map learning. Aligned pointing was performed better than the counter‐aligned task in both age groups, showing an alignment effect. Furthermore the performance in the counter‐aligned pointing was significantly correlated with MRT scores. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The orientation of young and older adults' mental representations of their home town with familiar and new landmarks

Familiarity with an environment produces refined mental representations in adults of all ages, but it is not clear whether these representations tend to have a north-up orientation and whether familiarity facilitates the learning of new spatial information, especially in ageing. Thirty-two young and 32 older adults studied a map of their home town that included familiar and new fictitious landmarks, then performed pointing tasks, some aligned with the cardinal points south–north (SN), and others counter-aligned, north–south (NS). A measure of visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) and a questionnaire on pleasure in exploring were also administered. The results showed that performance was better when pointing SN than NS (alignment effect), whereas pointing performance for familiar landmarks was similar for SN and NS alignments (no alignment effect). No interaction involving age was found. VSWM emerged as a significant predictor of pointing performance. Spatial mental representations of familiar environments are elaborate and flexible as regards familiar landmarks, in both young and older adults; and a familiar layout does not seem to enhance older adults' spatial memory as regards new landmarks.     

The role of visuo-spatial abilities in environment learning from maps and navigation over the adult lifespan

Visuo-spatial abilities have an important role in environment learning. The aim of the present study was to explore whether these abilities relate to spatial recall after learning an environment from a map or a video, and irrespective of the learner's age (from youth to old age). The study involved 431 participants from 25 to 84 years old, who were assessed for their visuo-spatial working memory, object-based mental rotation, and perspective-taking abilities. Then, they learned environments from a map and a video, and performed pointing, map drawing, and route repetition tasks after learning from each type of input. The resulting path models showed that age related to visuo-spatial abilities and (in some cases) to spatial accuracy, too. After accounting for age, visuo-spatial abilities also related to spatial recall performance, whatever the type of learning input, especially in pointing tasks and, to a lesser degree, in map drawing and route repetition tasks. Overall, the relationship between individual visuo-spatial abilities and environment learning relates to the learning input and the type of task used to assess recall. This relationship was found in a large and diverse sample of participants ranging from youth to old age.     

The development of creative cognition across adolescence: distinct trajectories for insight and divergent thinking

We examined developmental trajectories of creative cognition across adolescence. Participants (N = 98), divided into four age groups (12/13 yrs, 15/16 yrs, 18/19 yrs, and 25–30 yrs), were subjected to a battery of tasks gauging creative insight (visual; verbal) and divergent thinking (verbal; visuo‐spatial). The two older age groups outperformed the two younger age groups on insight tasks. The 25–30‐year‐olds outperformed the two youngest age groups on the originality measure of verbal divergent thinking. No age‐group differences were observed for verbal divergent thinking fluency and flexibility. On divergent thinking in the visuo‐spatial domain, however, only 15/16‐year‐olds outperformed 12/13‐year‐olds; a model with peak performance for 15/16‐years‐old showed the best fit. The results for the different creativity processes are discussed in relation to cognitive and related neurobiological models. We conclude that mid‐adolescence is a period of not only immaturities but also of creative potentials in the visuo‐spatial domain, possibly related to developing control functions and explorative behavior.     

The effects of age and professional expertise on working memory performance

Differences in professional choice and experience may explain age differences in working memory performance of elderly people. The aim of this study was to examine whether expertise and prolonged practice in verbal and visuo‐spatial abilities reduce age differences in laboratory working memory tasks. The effects of age and expertise on working memory performance were examined in three age groups in two different experiments. Firstly, the role of visuo‐spatial expertise was analysed by examining age differences in architects. Secondly, people with extensive experience in verbal abilities (literary people) were tested in order to evaluate the effect of professional verbal experience. Architects and literary people outperformed a group of unselected age peers on tasks related to professional expertise only, but not on general working memory tests. There was no interaction between age and experience, suggesting that professional experience does not increase differences between experts and non experts and cannot modulate age‐related effects. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning from maps: the role of visuo‐spatial working memory

The involvement of visuo‐spatial working memory (VSWM) in map learning was tested. While learning a map, participants were asked either to perform or abstain from a secondary interference task. Learning of the map was assessed by means of three different tasks (landmark positioning, pointing, route finding), each tapping a different type of spatial knowledge, namely, relative position knowledge, absolute position knowledge and route knowledge. Results showed that VSWM supports learning of absolute landmark positions but not learning of relative landmark positions. Moreover, VSWM appears to be involved in route learning. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How do individuals with Williams syndrome learn a route in a real‐world environment?

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) show a specific deficit in visuo‐spatial abilities. This finding, however, derives mainly from performance on small‐scale laboratory‐based tasks. This study investigated large‐scale route learning in individuals with WS and two matched control groups (moderate learning difficulty group [MLD], typically developing group [TD]). In a non‐labelling and a labelling (verbal information provided along the route) condition, participants were guided along one of two unfamiliar 1‐km routes with 20 junctions, and then retraced the route themselves (two trials). The WS participants performed less well than the other groups, but given verbal information and repeated experience they learnt nearly all of the turns along the route. The extent of improvement in route knowledge (correct turns) in WS was comparable to that of the control groups. Relational knowledge (correctly identifying spatial relationships between landmarks), compared with the TD group, remained poor for both the WS and the MLD group. Assessment of the relationship between performance on the large‐scale route‐learning task and that on three small‐scale tasks (maze learning, perspective taking, map use) showed no relationship for the TD controls, and only a few non‐specific associations in the MLD and WS groups.     

How useful is executive control training? Age differences in near and far transfer of task‐switching training

Although executive functions can be improved by training, little is known about the extent to which these training‐related benefits can be transferred to other tasks, or whether this transfer can be modulated by the type of training. This study investigated lifespan changes in near transfer of task‐switching training to structurally similar tasks and its modulation by verbal self‐instructions and variable training, as well as far transfer to structurally dissimilar ‘executive’ tasks and fluid intelligence. Three age groups (8–10; 18–26; 62–76 years of age) were examined in a pretest‐training‐posttest design. We found near transfer of task‐switching training in all age groups, especially in children and older adults. Near transfer was enhanced in adults and impaired in children when training tasks were variable. We also found substantial far transfer to other executive tasks and fluid intelligence in all age groups, pointing to the transfer of relatively general executive control abilities after training.     

Visuo‐spatial play experience: forerunner of visuo‐spatial achievement in preadolescent and adolescent boys and girls?

This cross‐sectional study explored whether participation, from early childhood, in play involving different cognitive abilities predicts visuo‐spatial achievement at ages 9, 12, and 15. Based on parental assessment, prior and present practice of spatial manipulation play was found to be consistently more frequent in boys than in girls; the reverse held true for verbal expression play. Whereas boys did not significantly outperform girls in three visuo‐spatial tasks, girls were superior on a contrastive vocabulary task. In general, with IQ statistically controlled, regression analyses showed that estimated past and present spatial manipulation play predicted both genders' proficiency in the water‐level task and Embedded Figures Test, as did mothers' socioeconomic status for Block Design performance. Contrastingly, a negative relation was established between spatial manipulation play and vocabulary scores. Similar to the activity‐ability association often identified among adults, the relation established here between spatial play experience and visuo‐spatial ability was only modest. Further research should aim at more definitive conclusions through augmenting both diversity in the visuo‐spatial skills measured and sophistication in play behaviour appraisal. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Creativity and involvement in art in different types of synaesthesia

The aim of the present study was to test the relationship between different types of synaesthesia and their involvement in art, creative, and visual abilities. We tested 20 grapheme‐colour, 18 sound‐colour, 19 grapheme‐colour‐and‐sound‐colour, 20 sequence‐space synaesthetes, and the same number of controls matched by age, gender, and education. We assessed the number of artistic professions, involvement in art, and the performance in psychometric tests of divergent and convergent creativity, as well as visual and visuo‐spatial abilities. Results show a higher prevalence of artists among synaesthetes, especially sound‐colour synaesthetes. Sound‐colour synaesthetes also showed a higher involvement in artistic activities overall while sequence‐space synaesthetes showed higher involvement in visual art. Only grapheme‐colour‐and‐sound‐colour synaesthetes showed significantly higher divergent creativity compared to matched controls. Additionally, overall, synaesthetes scored higher in visuo‐spatial abilities (i.e., mental rotation). For synaesthetes and controls, visuo‐spatial abilities correlated with divergent creativity. We discuss that synaesthetes’ higher involvement in art is not necessarily reflected in their basic creative abilities.     

Are people with high and low mental rotation abilities differently susceptible to the alignment effect?

We investigated whether the alignment effect (Levine et al, 1982 Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 111 157-175) is influenced by mental rotation abilities. In two experiments, groups of undergraduate students with high and low performance in mental rotation tasks were required to study either schematic (experiment 1) or more complex (experiment 2) maps, and to perform a number of pointing tasks adopting a perspective which could be aligned, misaligned (45 degrees, 135 degrees), or counteraligned (180 degrees) with the perspective assumed during learning. Cognitive styles in spatial representation have also been considered. Results of experiment 1 show that people with low performance in mental rotation tasks prefer to adopt a representation of space focused more on landmarks. Their performance in the pointing tasks depends on the alignment conditions, with more errors in the counteraligned condition followed by the two misaligned and aligned ones. In contrast to this, high-ability mental rotators prefer survey and route spatial representations and are affected only by the aligned and non-aligned conditions. In the second experiment, practice was studied as a function of mental rotation and alignment. The group high in mental rotation ability was found to be free from the alignment effect in the pointing tasks performed after the final of four learning phases.     

A comparison of working memory skills and learning in children with developmental coordination disorder and moderate learning difficulties

The present study compared 6–11 years old with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and those with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) on measures of memory (verbal short‐term and working memory, visuo‐spatial short‐term and working memory), literacy and numeracy, and IQ. The findings indicate that children with DCD appear to be impaired in all four areas of memory function; in particular they performed at significantly lower levels than children with MLD in measures of verbal short‐term memory, visuo‐spatial short‐term and working memory. In contrast, performance of children with MLD in the memory measures was within age‐expected levels, with deficits observed only in verbal working memory tasks. There were also differential links between memory and attainment between the two groups, and these were significant even after statistically accounting for the contribution of IQ. Reasons for why working memory contributes to learning in these two developmental groups are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Considering spatial ability in virtual route learning in early aging

The aim of this study is to broaden our understanding of the construction and early decline of spatial mental representations in route learning, considering the extent to which spatial ability and age-related differences in environment learning interact. The experiment examines spatial mental representation derived from taking a realistic route acquired using virtual environment and compares individuals different in age but with similar spatial ability. A sample of 34 young (20–30 years) and 30 middle-aged (50–60 years) females with good mental rotation ability were chosen. Participants learned a complex route through its presentation in a virtual environment and then performed a series of tasks (landmark recognition, location of landmarks and verification of spatial relations). Results show that the two participant age groups had similar performance in landmark recognition task and in verification of sentences describing direct spatial relations; instead, the middle-aged group showed a poorer performance than younger in their ability to locate landmarks and to judge the truth of indirect spatial sentences. These results first suggest that spatial abilities have to be seriously considered to avoid any confusion with age, as age-related differences are attenuated when individuals are different in age but similar in spatial ability. Second they confirm a specific difficulty of older participants to handle spatial information in a global configuration.     

Age-related similarities and differences in monitoring spatial cognition

Spatial cognitive performance is impaired in later adulthood but it is unclear whether the metacognitive processes involved in monitoring spatial cognitive performance are also compromised. Inaccurate monitoring could affect whether people choose to engage in tasks that require spatial thinking and also the strategies they use in spatial domains such as navigation. The current experiment examined potential age differences in monitoring spatial cognitive performance in a variety of spatial domains including visual–spatial working memory, spatial orientation, spatial visualization, navigation, and place learning. Younger and older adults completed a 2D mental rotation test, 3D mental rotation test, paper folding test, spatial memory span test, two virtual navigation tasks, and a cognitive mapping test. Participants also made metacognitive judgments of performance (confidence judgments, judgments of learning, or navigation time estimates) on each trial for all spatial tasks. Preference for allocentric or egocentric navigation strategies was also measured. Overall, performance was poorer and confidence in performance was lower for older adults than younger adults. In most spatial domains, the absolute and relative accuracy of metacognitive judgments was equivalent for both age groups. However, age differences in monitoring accuracy (specifically relative accuracy) emerged in spatial tasks involving navigation. Confidence in navigating for a target location also mediated age differences in allocentric navigation strategy use. These findings suggest that with the possible exception of navigation monitoring, spatial cognition may be spared from age-related decline even though spatial cognition itself is impaired in older age.     

Using hippocampal‐dependent eyeblink conditioning to predict individual differences in spatial reorientation strategies in 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds

The hippocampus is a subcortical structure in the medial temporal lobe involved in cognitive functions such as spatial navigation and reorientation, episodic memory, and associative learning. While much is understood about the role of hippocampal function in learning and memory in adults, less is known about the relations between the hippocampus and the development of these cognitive skills in young children due to the limitations of using standard methods (e.g., MRI) to examine brain structure and function in developing populations. This study used hippocampal‐dependent trace eyeblink conditioning (EBC) as a feasible approach to examine individual differences in hippocampal functioning as they relate to spatial reorientation and episodic memory performance in young children. Three‐ to six‐year‐old children (N = 50) completed tasks that measured EBC, spatial reorientation, and episodic memory, as well as non‐hippocampal‐dependent processing speed abilities. Results revealed that when age was held constant, individual differences in EBC performance were significantly related to individual differences in performance on the spatial reorientation test, but not on the episodic memory or processing speed tests. When the relations between hippocampal‐dependent EBC and different reorientation strategies were explored, it was found that individual differences in hippocampal function predicted the use of geometric information for reorienting in space as opposed to a combined strategy that uses both geometric information and salient visual cues. The utilization of eyeblink conditioning to examine hippocampal function in young populations and its implications for understanding the dissociation between spatial reorientation and episodic memory development are discussed.     

语言能力的老化机制：语言特异性与非特异性因素的共同作用

语言能力的衰退是由于一般认知能力衰退引起的, 还是由于语言加工系统的衰退引起的, 抑或是两者的共同作用?研究中测量了青年组和老年组的一般认知能力(加工速度、工作记忆和抑制能力), 以及在词汇、句子和语篇三个水平上的语言理解能力和语言产生能力。结果发现, 一般认知能力、语言理解和语言产生能力都存在年老化现象。分层回归分析表明, 一般认知能力对语言能力的贡献, 以及语言理解能力和产生能力之间的相互贡献在青年组和老年组中是不同的, 且存在词汇、句子和语篇水平上的差异。在词汇水平上, 青年人的成绩能够被一般认知能力和另一种语言能力所显著预测, 而老年人的成绩却不受一般认知因素影响; 在句子水平上, 青年人的成绩仍能被一般认知能力或另一种语言能力所解释, 但这两类变量都无法预测老年人的任务成绩; 在语篇水平上, 青年人理解任务的成绩显著地受到产生能力影响, 而老年人的理解和产生任务成绩则分别可以被一般认知能力和语言理解能力所解释。对组间差异的回归分析表明, 一般认知能力和另一种语言能力对组间差异都有显著贡献, 且前者的贡献大于后者。上述研究结果表明, 语言能力的老化是语言特异性因素和非特异性因素共同作用的结果。     

Evidence for a young adult face bias in accuracy and consensus of age estimates

Adults' face processing may be specialized for the dimensions of young adult faces. For example, young and older adults exhibit increased accuracy in normality judgments and greater agreement in attractiveness ratings for young versus older adult faces. The present study was designed to examine whether there is a similar young adult face bias in facial age estimates. In Experiment 1, we created a face age continuum by morphing an averaged young adult face with an averaged older adult face in 5% increments, for a total of 21 faces ranging from 0 to 100% old. Young and older adults estimated facial age for three stimulus age categories [young (morphs 0–30%), middle‐aged (morphs 35–65%), and older adult (morphs 70–100%)]. Both age groups showed the least differentiation in age estimates for young adult faces, despite showing greater consensus across participants in estimates for young faces. In Experiment 2, young and older adults made age estimates for individual young and older adult identities. Both age groups were more accurate and showed greater consensus in age estimates for young faces. Collectively, these results provide evidence for a bias in processing young adult faces beyond that which is often observed in recognition and normality/attractiveness judgment tasks.     

Children can optimally integrate multisensory information after a short action‐like mini game training

Combining information across different sensory modalities is of critical importance for the animal's survival and a core feature of human's everyday life. In adulthood, sensory information is often integrated in a statistically optimal fashion, so that the combined estimates of two or more senses are more reliable than the best single one. Several studies have shown that young children use one sense to calibrate the others, which results in unisensory dominance and undermines their optimal multisensory integration abilities. In this study we trained children aged 4–5 years with action‐like mini games, to determine whether it could improve their multisensory as well as their visuo‐spatial skills. Multisensory integration abilities were assessed using a visuo‐haptic size discrimination task, while visuo‐spatial attention skills were investigated using a multiple object tracking task (MOT). We found that 2‐weeks training were sufficient to observe both optimal multisensory integration and visuo‐spatial enhancements selectively in the group trained with action‐like mini games. This plastic change persisted up to 3 months, as assessed in a follow‐up. Our novel findings reveal that abilities that are commonly known to emerge in late childhood can be promoted in younger children through action‐like mini games and have long‐lasting effects. Our data have clinical implications, in that they suggest that specific trainings could potentially help children with multisensory integration deficits.     

Antimnemonic effects of schemas in young and older adults

Schema-consistent material that is aligned with an individual’s knowledge and experience is typically more memorable than abstract material. This effect is often more extreme in older adults and schema use can alleviate age deficits in memory. In three experiments, young and older adults completed memory tasks where the availability of schematic information was manipulated. Specifying nonobvious relations between to-be-remembered word pairs paradoxically hindered memory (Experiment 1). Highlighting relations within mixed lists of related and unrelated word pairs had no effect on memory for those pairs (Experiment 2). This occurred even though related word pairs were recalled better than unrelated word pairs, particularly for older adults. Revealing a schematic context in a memory task with abstract image segments also hindered memory performance, particularly for older adults (Experiment 3). The data show that processing schematic information can come with costs that offset mnemonic benefits associated with schema-consistent stimuli.