Virtual Reality and Spatial Cognition

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Abstract

In this article, the significance of virtual reality within the field of spatial cognition is outlined. The role of virtual reality is grouped in three sections addressing (1) the current and latest technology of virtual reality regarding the two main functions within virtual reality, that is, technology to interact with virtuality (input devices used to record observer actions and output devices used to simulate sensory stimuli) and technology for presenting the virtual environments to the user, (2) the usage of this technology for the purpose of research in the field of spatial cognition regarding behavioral and neuronal processes (discussing advantages and disadvantages of virtual reality), and (3) virtual reality experiments and their results that are relevant in current research of spatial cognition covering place memory, wayfinding in large-scale spaces, and the neural representations of spatial features.

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