A virtual reality paradigm with dynamic scene stimuli for use in memory research

Noah S. Okada, Katherine L. McNeely-White, Anne M. Cleary, Brooke N. Carlaw, Daniel L. Drane, Thomas D. Parsons, Timothy McMahan, Joseph Neisser, Nigel P. Pedersen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Episodic memory may essentially be memory for one’s place within a temporally unfolding scene from a first-person perspective. Given this, pervasively used static stimuli may only capture one small part of episodic memory. A promising approach for advancing the study of episodic memory is immersing participants within varying scenes from a first-person perspective. We present a pool of distinct scene stimuli for use in virtual environments and a paradigm that is implementable across varying levels of immersion on multiple virtual reality (VR) platforms and adaptable to studying various aspects of scene and episodic memory. In our task, participants are placed within a series of virtual environments from a first-person perspective and guided through a virtual tour of scenes during a study phase and a test phase. In the test phase, some scenes share a spatial layout with studied scenes; others are completely novel. In three experiments with varying degrees of immersion, we measure scene recall, scene familiarity-detection during recall failure, the subjective experience of déjà vu, the ability to predict the next turn on a tour, the subjective sense of being able to predict the next turn on a tour, and the factors that influence memory search and the inclination to generate candidate recollective information. The level of first-person immersion mattered to multiple facets of episodic memory. The paradigm presents a useful means of advancing mechanistic understanding of how memory operates in realistic dynamic scene environments, including in combination with cognitive neuroscience methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)6440-6463
Number of pages24
JournalBehavior Research Methods
Volume56
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Deja vu
  • Episodic memory
  • Familiarity
  • Immersion
  • Role of scenes in episodic memory
  • Scene recognition
  • Spatial cognition
  • Spatial navigation
  • Unity
  • Virtual reality

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Psychology (miscellaneous)
  • General Psychology

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