Anxiety, stress, and affective modulation on object-location memory: A systematic review in virtual environments

Object-location memory (OLM) is the ability to encode and retrieve spatial relationships between objects by using egocentric or allocentric reference frames. Critically, OLM is modulated by emotional memory systems that engage amygdala-hippocampal and arousal-related mechanisms that can bias or disrupt spatial encoding. Despite evidence that emotion shapes memory, its specific impact on OLM remains unclear, particularly in digital contexts. This systematic review examined how emotional valence, particularly stress and anxiety, modulates OLM performance in computer-based and virtual/augmented reality tasks. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, and PubMed. Twelve empirical studies published up to 2025 met the inclusion criteria. Results revealed sex-specific effects: anxious women tended to rely on egocentric strategies, whereas stressed men showed greater allocentric flexibility. The timing of stress exposure was critical, often disrupting encoding but occasionally facilitating retrieval. Emotional valence differentially influenced performance: positive stimuli enhanced spatial accuracy, whereas negative stimuli accelerated response times. Spatial working memory (SWM) and mental rotation emerged as key cognitive resources supporting flexible spatial learning, while physiological stress markers showed only weak associations with behavioral outcomes. Future research should standardize paradigms, explore digital and immersive environments, include diverse populations, and clarify theoretical distinctions among arousal, valence, anxiety, and stress to better understand how emotional states shape spatial memory.