Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Performance on a virtual reality spatial memory navigation task in depressed patients.

Neda F Gould1, M Kathleen Holmes, Bryan D Fantie

  • 1Laboratory of Molecular Pathophysiology, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, NIMH, Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, 10 Center Dr., Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

The American Journal of Psychiatry
|March 3, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Proposal for Circadian Rhythms and Their Behavioral Outputs as Biomarkers in <i>DSM-6</i>: Response to Cuthbert et al.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026
Same author

Modulation of early non-rapid eye movement slow wave activity by ketamine in treatment-resistant depression.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same author

Mu-Opioid Signaling Engagement as a Candidate Maintenance Mechanism for Prolonging Ketamine's Antisuicidal Effects.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026
Same author

Major depressive disorder is associated with reduced intrinsic connectivity between the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and ventral striatum.

Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN·2026
Same author

Ketamine Infusions and Rapid Reduction of Suicidal and Depressive Symptoms in Major Depressive Episode: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

JAMA psychiatry·2026
Same author

Mechanistic Underpinnings of Emotional Face Processing in Suicide Risk: Exploring the Moderating Effects of Cortisol on Neural Parameters Using Magnetoencephalography.

Psychiatric research and clinical practice·2026

Depressed patients exhibit significant spatial memory deficits, performing worse on a virtual reality navigation task compared to healthy individuals. This novel virtual reality approach offers a sensitive measure for cognitive impairments in affective disorders.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Spatial memory deficits are inconsistently reported in depression.
  • Existing measures may lack sensitivity to detect these subtle cognitive impairments.
  • The hippocampus plays a crucial role in spatial memory and is implicated in depression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate spatial memory performance in depressed patients using a novel virtual reality (VR) navigation task.
  • To compare the sensitivity of a VR task versus a traditional spatial memory measure in detecting deficits in depression.
  • To assess the reliability of the VR navigation task for measuring cognitive function.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 30 patients with unipolar and bipolar depression and 19 healthy controls were recruited.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Participants completed a novel virtual reality navigation task assessing spatial memory.
  • A traditional spatial memory assessment was also administered for comparison.

    • Main Results:

    • Depressed patients demonstrated significantly poorer performance on the virtual reality navigation task compared to controls.
    • No significant differences in spatial memory were found between groups using the traditional measure.
    • The VR navigation task exhibited high test-retest reliability, indicating consistent measurement.

    Conclusions:

    • Depressed individuals exhibit impaired spatial memory, as evidenced by their performance on the VR navigation task.
    • Virtual reality navigation emerges as a sensitive and reliable tool for assessing cognitive deficits in affective disorders.
    • This VR approach may serve as a valuable method for studying endophenotypes related to hippocampal function in depression.