Always Getting Lost: Defining Developmental Topographical Disorientation (DTD)-A Systematic Literature Review

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Spatial Cognition

Background:

• Developmental topographical disorientation (DTD) is a navigation impairment affecting daily life.
• A clear clinical definition and assessment tools for DTD are lacking.
• Recent theoretical frameworks allow for classifying navigation impairments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To clarify the behavioral characteristics of DTD by reviewing empirical evidence.
• To utilize recent theoretical developments in navigation impairment classification.
• To inform the development of a clinical definition and assessment tools for DTD.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of empirical studies on DTD.
• Identification of DTD descriptions and criteria.
• Classification of DTD performance across navigation domains (landmark, location, path knowledge).

Main Results:

• DTD is characterized by impaired allocentric location and path knowledge, indicating poor mental map quality.
• Landmark knowledge is generally unaffected in DTD.
• Impaired landmark knowledge may suggest a broader visual agnosia.

Conclusions:

• Poor mental map quality is the primary characteristic of DTD.
• DTD navigation strategies appear landmark-focused.
• Findings support the development of a clinical characterization and assessment tools for DTD.