NavWell: A simplified virtual-reality platform for spatial navigation and memory experiments

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Neuroscience
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Navigation, spatial memory, and recall are crucial survival skills for humans and animals.
• The Morris water maze is a standard laboratory tool for assessing animal navigation.
• Virtual reality (VR) enables translation of animal navigation tasks to human studies, but existing methods face challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce NavWell, a free, downloadable virtual water maze system.
• To provide a flexible and standardized platform for navigation research and testing.
• To validate the NavWell system and suggest standardized procedures for memory tests.

Main Methods:

• Development of the NavWell virtual water maze system, accessible via desktop or VR.
• Implementation of experimental design flexibility within the NavWell system.
• Validation of the software through data from four independent experiments.

Main Results:

• The NavWell system is validated as a functional tool for virtual navigation tasks.
• Suggested procedures for integrating NavWell with established memory tests.
• Demonstrated potential for standardization in navigational research and clinical/educational testing.

Conclusions:

• NavWell offers a cost-effective, flexible, and standardized solution for virtual water maze studies.
• The system facilitates research in cognitive science, neuroscience, and clinical/educational settings.
• Further development is planned to expand the capabilities and applications of NavWell.