Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research
Abstract Maze tasks, originally developed in animal research, have become a popular method for studying human cognition, particularly with the advent of virtual reality. However, these experiments frequently rely on simplified environments and tasks, which may not accurately reflect the complexity o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86037-4 |
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| author | Piruza Manukyan Elizaveta Romanova Alexander Latanov Pavel Shlepnev Anastasia Sharapkova Naida Garabova Vladimir Kasatkin Vera Tolchennikova |
| author_facet | Piruza Manukyan Elizaveta Romanova Alexander Latanov Pavel Shlepnev Anastasia Sharapkova Naida Garabova Vladimir Kasatkin Vera Tolchennikova |
| author_sort | Piruza Manukyan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Maze tasks, originally developed in animal research, have become a popular method for studying human cognition, particularly with the advent of virtual reality. However, these experiments frequently rely on simplified environments and tasks, which may not accurately reflect the complexity of real-world situations. Our pilot study aims to transfer a multi-alternative maze with a complex task structure, previously demonstrated to be useful in studying animal cognition, to studying human spatial cognition. The challenges to be resolved at this stage included developing a virtual maze and selecting an appropriate instruction that will elicit processes similar to those observed in animal models. A virtual maze was developed, and two types of instructions were provided to the participants: (1) to collect coins; (2) to interact with the maze in order to draw its structure after the game. The results indicate that a more structured instruction with a clear attainable goal (“collect”) prompted more in-depth exploration and engagement with the key elements of the maze, eliciting processes similar to those of animals. While the maze demonstrates promise as a tool for comparative studies, it also has the potential to uncover different aspects of human cognition. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c9dfbabdcd99426b81b6663e2a23dae2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-c9dfbabdcd99426b81b6663e2a23dae22025-01-19T12:20:07ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-86037-4Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning researchPiruza Manukyan0Elizaveta Romanova1Alexander Latanov2Pavel Shlepnev3Anastasia Sharapkova4Naida Garabova5Vladimir Kasatkin6Vera Tolchennikova7Research Institute for Brain Development and Peak Performance, RUDN UniversityResearch Institute for Brain Development and Peak Performance, RUDN UniversityResearch Institute for Brain Development and Peak Performance, RUDN UniversityResearch Institute for Brain Development and Peak Performance, RUDN UniversityResearch Institute for Brain Development and Peak Performance, RUDN UniversityMedical Institute, RUDN UniversityCognitive Development and Neurorehabilitation FoundationResearch Institute for Brain Development and Peak Performance, RUDN UniversityAbstract Maze tasks, originally developed in animal research, have become a popular method for studying human cognition, particularly with the advent of virtual reality. However, these experiments frequently rely on simplified environments and tasks, which may not accurately reflect the complexity of real-world situations. Our pilot study aims to transfer a multi-alternative maze with a complex task structure, previously demonstrated to be useful in studying animal cognition, to studying human spatial cognition. The challenges to be resolved at this stage included developing a virtual maze and selecting an appropriate instruction that will elicit processes similar to those observed in animal models. A virtual maze was developed, and two types of instructions were provided to the participants: (1) to collect coins; (2) to interact with the maze in order to draw its structure after the game. The results indicate that a more structured instruction with a clear attainable goal (“collect”) prompted more in-depth exploration and engagement with the key elements of the maze, eliciting processes similar to those of animals. While the maze demonstrates promise as a tool for comparative studies, it also has the potential to uncover different aspects of human cognition.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86037-4Virtual mazeSpatial navigationSpatial cognitionAnimal research |
| spellingShingle | Piruza Manukyan Elizaveta Romanova Alexander Latanov Pavel Shlepnev Anastasia Sharapkova Naida Garabova Vladimir Kasatkin Vera Tolchennikova Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research Scientific Reports Virtual maze Spatial navigation Spatial cognition Animal research |
| title | Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research |
| title_full | Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research |
| title_fullStr | Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research |
| title_short | Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research |
| title_sort | challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research |
| topic | Virtual maze Spatial navigation Spatial cognition Animal research |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86037-4 |
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