The Enhancing Effect of Cognitive Training on Spatial Navigation:Spatial Anxiety as A Mediator
With the rapid development of science and technology,our country has made extraordinary achievements in a wide range of fields,including but not limited to aerospace,aviation,and maritime industries.The relentless march of technological innovation has led to an expansion of the domains in which humanity operates.In particular,the transformation of the equipment manufacturing industry has resulted in increasingly intricate work environments and task demands,placing a premium on the cognitive efficiency of those in operational roles.Consequently,there has been a surge in scholarly interest in employing psychological techniques to bolster the fundamental cognitive faculties of individuals.In this context,spatial ability emerges as a pivotal element of human intelligence with a profound impact on personal growth and survival.The current study is dedicated to exploring the potential of cognitive enhancement training,with an emphasis on spatial working memory,to elevate spatial ability in individuals.A cohort of 166 participants was recruited,with an equal division between those classified as high performers and low performers based on their proficiency in spatial navigation tasks.For the purpose of training,83 participants from the low-performance group were selected,a decision informed by the desire to avoid the ceiling effect.The participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups:a behavioral training group,a transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS)group,a combined behavioral and tDCS training group,and a control group.The experimental protocol followed a structured sequence of pre-test,training,and post-test.During the pre-test phase,all participants performed spatial navigation and spatial working memory updating tasks while wearing physiological monitoring devices to collect heart rate variability(HRV)data.Over the span of seven days,participants in the experimental groups underwent five training sessions,while the control group did not receive any training.Post-training,all participants were subjected to post-test evaluations.The study adopted a two-factor design,with group allocation as the between-subjects factor and the temporal progression of testing as the within-subjects factor.One participant in the combined behavioral and tDCS training group was not included in the analysis.The results of the study revealed significant improvements in the spatial working memory abilities of participants in the combined behavioral and tDCS training group when compared to their counterparts in the tDCS and control groups.Additionally,the behavioral training group evidenced a marked enhancement in working memory capacity,surpassing the improvements observed in the tDCS and control groups.These results suggest that both the combined training and the behavioral training are effective in significantly augmenting an individual's spatial working memory,a finding that distinguishes these interventions from the more modest effects observed in the tDCS and control groups.Furthermore,the study identified a notable increase in the accuracy of spatial navigation tasks and a concomitant decrease in reaction times for participants in the combined training,behavioral training,and tDCS groups.This evidence highlights the efficacy of cognitive enhancement training,which utilized spatial working memory updating exercises,in significantly enhancing participants'spatial navigation abilities.Physiological data collected during the study also indicated a significant uptick in participants'LogHF values across the combined training,behavioral training,and tDCS groups.This physiological change signifies a substantial reduction in spatial anxiety levels in the trained participants.Moreover,the mediation analysis revealed that spatial working memory updating training can effectively lower spatial anxiety,which in turn,improves performance in spatial navigation tasks.These findings support the study's hypothesis that cognitive enhancement training,by mitigating spatial anxiety,can lead to enhanced spatial navigational skills.In summary,the findings of this study provide compelling evidence for the efficacy of cognitive enhancement training in improving an individual's spatial navigation capabilities.The study further shows that such training can indirectly refine spatial navigation skills by effectively reducing spatial anxiety.These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the interplay between cognitive training and spatial abilities,with valuable implications for the development of training programs aimed at enhancing operational performance in complex environments.
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