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Eye-Movements During Navigation in a Virtual Environment: Sex Differences and Relationship to Sex Hormones
TiAnni Harris1, Johanna Hagg1, Belinda Pletzer1
1Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
|May 16, 2022
Summary
This study investigated sex differences in spatial navigation using virtual reality. Contrary to expectations, women did not utilize landmark strategies as predicted, and longer gaze distances correlated with slower navigation performance.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human-computer interaction
Background:
- Sex differences in spatial navigation strategies are documented, with women often favoring landmark-based approaches and men employing Euclidean strategies.
- Attentional processes are hypothesized to underlie these navigation differences, yet empirical eye-tracking data remain scarce.
- Virtual reality (VR) offers a novel platform for studying spatial navigation and attentional mechanisms in controlled environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sex differences in eye movements during 3D spatial navigation using virtual reality.
- To explore the relationship between sex, navigation strategy, and attentional focus (eye fixations).
- To examine the influence of estradiol levels on landmark utilization in women during navigation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized virtual reality goggles for immersive 3D spatial navigation tasks.
- Recorded eye movements (gaze fixations, gaze distance) in 39 men and 36 women.
- Analyzed navigation performance and correlated eye-tracking data with sex and estradiol levels.
Main Results:
- Observed expected sex differences in overall navigation performance.
- Women's gaze fixations did not align with the hypothesized landmark-based strategy, unlike men's Euclidean strategy.
- Higher estradiol levels in women correlated with increased focus on landmark information.
- Women exhibited longer gaze distances than men, unexpectedly linked to slower navigation.
Conclusions:
- Findings challenge traditional assumptions about sex-based navigation strategies, particularly women's reliance on landmarks.
- Eye-tracking in VR reveals complex attentional patterns during navigation that differ between sexes.
- Estradiol may play a role in modulating landmark-based attention in women.
- Further research is needed to understand the implications of gaze distance and VR limitations (lack of proprioceptive/vestibular input) on navigation.
