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Llana T, Garces-Arilla S, Juan MC, Mendez-Lopez M, Mendez M. An immersive virtual reality-based object-location memory task reveals spatial long-term memory alterations in Long-COVID. Behav Brain Res 2024; 471:115127. [PMID: 38936427 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Object-location memory (OLM) is a type of declarative memory for spatial information and consists of the individual's ability to establish accurate associations between objects and their spatial locations. Long-COVID describes the long-term effects of the COVID-19 disease. Long-COVID patients show medial temporal lobe dysfunction and neuropsychological alterations affecting memory. This study aimed to assess OLM in a group of Long-COVID patients, n=66, and a Control group of healthy individuals with similar age and sex composition, n=21, using an immersive virtual reality (iVR)-based OLM task. We also explored associations between the performance in the iVR-based OLM task and general cognitive function (MoCA), and both verbal (VSTM) and visuospatial (SSTM) span. The Long-COVID group showed fewer correct responses, made more task attempts, and invested more time in the iVR-based OLM task than the Control group. Delayed memory was more severely altered than immediate memory in Long-COVID participants. Better MoCA scores of the Long-COVID group were strongly associated with shorter times to complete the immediate recall of the iVR-based OLM task. Besides, the months elapsed since the COVID-19 infection were slightly associated with fewer correct responses in the immediate and 24-hour recalls. These results corroborate previous findings of memory alterations in the Long-COVID syndrome using an iVR-based OLM task, adding new evidence on spatial memory and long-term memory in this population. Implementing spatial iVR tasks to clinical research may improve our understanding of neuropsychological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Llana
- Neuroscience Institute of Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA), Faculty of Psychology, Plaza Feijoo s/n, Oviedo, Asturias 33003, Spain; Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Faculty of Psychology, Plaza Feijoo s/n, Oviedo, Asturias 33003, Spain.
| | - Sara Garces-Arilla
- Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Pedro Cerbuna 12, Zaragoza, Aragón 50009, Spain.
| | - M-Carmen Juan
- Instituto Universitario de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, C/Camino de Vera, s/n, Valencia 46022, Spain.
| | - Magdalena Mendez-Lopez
- Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Pedro Cerbuna 12, Zaragoza, Aragón 50009, Spain; IIS Aragón, San Juan Bosco, 13, Zaragoza, Aragón 50009, Spain.
| | - Marta Mendez
- Neuroscience Institute of Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA), Faculty of Psychology, Plaza Feijoo s/n, Oviedo, Asturias 33003, Spain; Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Faculty of Psychology, Plaza Feijoo s/n, Oviedo, Asturias 33003, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Av. del Hospital Universitario, s/n, Oviedo, Asturias 33011, Spain.
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Aging: working memory capacity and spatial strategies in a virtual orientation task. GeroScience 2022; 45:159-175. [PMID: 35690689 PMCID: PMC9886750 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-022-00599-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain networks involved in working and spatial memory are closely intertwined, outlining a potential relation between these processes, which are also affected in non-pathological aging. Working memory is a pre-requisite for other complex cognitive processes. The main aim of this study is to explore how working memory capacity (WMC) can influence the asymmetrical decline in spatial orientation strategies in an older segment of population compared to young participants. Forty-eight older adults and twelve young students took part in the study. Working memory and spatial memory were assessed using the Change Localization Task and The Boxes Room Task, respectively. In The Boxes Room Task, two different configurations assessed the use of egocentric and allocentric reference frames. Results showed that older adults with better WMC outperformed those with lower WMC in several tasks. Independently of WMC capacity, older participants performed better in the allocentric condition of The Boxes Room. In addition, young participants outscored low WMC older participants, but did not differ from high WMC older adults. Overly, these findings support the important relationship between working memory capacity and spatial orientations abilities. Thus, basic cognitive mechanisms engaged in information processing could inform about other brain processes more complex in nature, like spatial orientation skills.
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