An open-access neuroimaging-compatible virtual town task for assessing human spatial navigation
- 1Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin
Abstract
Spatial navigation is a cognitive skill that draws on multiple processes such as learning, decision-making and memory, which are often updated on a second-by-second timescale. However, many existing virtual paradigms designed to assay spatial navigation cannot target these processes as they unfold or are not designed for integration with concurrent neurophysiological recording. Here, we present and demonstrate our open-access task for neuroimaging: NAturalistic Virtual Assessment of Navigation (NAVAN) combining high-resolution behavioural tracking and integration with electroencephalography. We report data from this task, in which fifty-three participants completed a wayfinding navigation paradigm across twenty-four trials. Navigational efficiency improved significantly following repeated exposure to the environment, although efficiency declined across trials within each block. Self-reported spatial ability (assessed by the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction) predicted performance during early environmental exposure, suggesting concurrent validity. We demonstrated the feasibility of recording electroencephalography during the task, with in-game events streamed and aligned to the neural recording. The task provides researchers with access to detailed behavioural measures and can be adapted by modifying features such as trial number and difficulty. We also provide a step-by-step implementation guide to support reuse and customisation across experimental settings.
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BibTeX
@misc{thornberry2026openaccess,
title = {{An open-access neuroimaging-compatible virtual town task for assessing human spatial navigation}},
author = {C. Thornberry and S. Lieu and J. K. Bradshaw Bernacchi and D. M. Quinn and L. Sutton and R. Osagie and A. Walsh and L. Zhang and T. Ward and A. Lopez Valdes and R. Whelan},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.64898/2026.11.04.763058},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.04.763058v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - An open-access neuroimaging-compatible virtual town task for assessing human spatial navigation
AU - C. Thornberry
AU - S. Lieu
AU - J. K. Bradshaw Bernacchi
AU - D. M. Quinn
AU - L. Sutton
AU - R. Osagie
AU - A. Walsh
AU - L. Zhang
AU - T. Ward
AU - A. Lopez Valdes
AU - R. Whelan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.11.04.763058
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.04.763058v1
AB - Spatial navigation is a cognitive skill that draws on multiple processes such as learning, decision-making and memory, which are often updated on a second-by-second timescale. However, many existing virtual paradigms designed to assay spatial navigation cannot target these processes as they unfold or are not designed for integration with concurrent neurophysiological recording. Here, we present and demonstrate our open-access task for neuroimaging: NAturalistic Virtual Assessment of Navigation (NAVAN) combining high-resolution behavioural tracking and integration with electroencephalography. We report data from this task, in which fifty-three participants completed a wayfinding navigation paradigm across twenty-four trials. Navigational efficiency improved significantly following repeated exposure to the environment, although efficiency declined across trials within each block. Self-reported spatial ability (assessed by the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction) predicted performance during early environmental exposure, suggesting concurrent validity. We demonstrated the feasibility of recording electroencephalography during the task, with in-game events streamed and aligned to the neural recording. The task provides researchers with access to detailed behavioural measures and can be adapted by modifying features such as trial number and difficulty. We also provide a step-by-step implementation guide to support reuse and customisation across experimental settings.
ER -