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Animal Lab

Four mountains test

$1,790.00
Examine the relationship between allocentric and orientation spatial memory and the risk of cognitive impairment or dementia by studying associated brain areas in environments that are more natural and human-like. This approach contrasts with traditional methods such as the VR Morris Water Maze or other laboratory-based maze tests, providing a more realistic assessment of how these cognitive functions operate in everyday settings. By utilizing real-world scenarios, researchers aim to gain a deeper understanding of the brain's role in spatial memory and its impact on dementia, potentially leading to more effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
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Specifications
3.5 Ɨ 3.5 m space
Tracked boundary by 30 cm
Alarm and visual warning if the user moves beyond the boundary.
ā€œā€˜L’-shaped outward path to three different locations
Each marked by inverted cones at head height numbered one two and three

Parameters to measure

  • Time taken to complete the task (seconds)
  • Distance travelled (m)
  • Time taken to travel to cone 2 (seconds)
  • Distance travelled to cone 2 (m)
  • Path taken to cone 2
  • Time taken to travel to cone 3 (seconds)
  • Distance travelled to cone 3 (m)
  • Path taken to cone 3
  • Time taken to travel back to cone 1 (seconds)
  • Distance travelled back to cone 1 (m)
  • Path taken back to cone 1
  • Speed (m/s)
  • Number of ā€˜out of border’ boundary events (N)
  • Length of time in ā€˜out of border’ boundary (s)
  • Distance in ā€˜out of border’ boundary (m)
  • Absolute distance error from location 1 upon return (m)

Protocols

9 trials conducted within each of the three environments, totalling, 27 trials per participant.

Path integration

The return path conditions were altered to three different environments: condition A, no environmental changeĀ  (Fig. 1D), condition B, removal of boundary cues (Fig. 1E); and condition C, removal of surface detail (Fig. 1F). Each return condition was presented three times per environment, with return conditions presented pseudo-randomly in each environment. 20 seconds of habituation The user is asked to walk in an ā€˜L’-shaped outward path to three different locations. Inverted cones 2 and 3 disappear once the user reaches them. Upon reaching cone 3, a message is projected onto the scene asking the user to talk back to location 1 using their memory via a round-trip path. An auditory stimulus and the appearance of a cone alert participants to walk to the next cone location. The user presses the controller trigger when he believes he has reached the estimated location of cone 1, which ends the test. And at the end, the following results are obtained:

References

Vr version: Howett, D., Castegnaro, A., Krzywicka, K., Hagman, J., Marchment, D., Henson, R., Rio, M., King, J. A., Burgess, N., & Chan, D. (2019). Differentiation of mild cognitive impairment using an entorhinal cortex-based test of virtual reality navigation. Brain, 142(6), 1751-1766. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz116

Total Trials

  • 27 trials per participant

Trials Per Environment

  • 9 trials

Number Of Environments

  • 3

Habituation Time

  • 20 seconds

Test Conditions

  • 3 (no environmental change, removal of boundary cues, removal of surface detail)

Path Type

  • L-shaped outward path

Cone Locations

  • 3 different locations

Return Condition Repetitions

  • 3 times per environment

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Four mountains test
$1,790.00