ИСТИНА

Introduction. In solving spatial tasks, egocentric (ESRs) and allocentric (ASRs) spatial representations are typically distinguished. ESRs encode the visual scenes in self-centered coordinates and ASRs – in world coordinates. An important topic in ESR/ASR research is the study of deficits in ESRs and, especially, ASRs, which have been shown in old age (Colombo et al., 2018) and Alzheimer’s Disease (Serino et al., 2014. Little is known about SR processing in working memory. We studied how both types of SRs could be stored in the visual-spatial working memory (VSWM) using the task of 3D scene reconstruction. Methods Thirty four participants (20F, 14M, age range 18—22) were tested. Eight virtual scenes were designed, each containing four virtual objects located in different 3D positions. The scenes were presented using HTC vive each for 10s. The task was to reconstruct the scene in a virtual reality environment using either an ESR (without changing the mental perspective) or using an ASR (with changing the mental perspective). Virtual object’s locations were recorded. Low and high levels of load in the WSWM were set according to the dual task. Results It was shown that topology is well preserved for ESR (about 90% correct reconstructions), but not for ASR (68% reconstructions). T-test revealed significant differences between experimental conditions t(27) = -4,80; р = 0,001. These results suggest a gradual decrease in the accuracy of topological information in ASRs as they require more mental rotation. It was also shown, that metric accuracy in VSWM is much lower than topological accuracy and that the results don’t differ much between SRs (all ps > 0.1) Conclusions. Our results show that the characteristics of ESRs and ASRs created in VSWM are very similar to that typically reported for SRs in long-term memory. A higher effectiveness of ESRs was revealed in the reconstruction of spatial information in VSWM. Overall, our results suggest that VSWM may be involved in the formation of ESRs and ASRs as an important aspect of human spatial cognition. This research has been supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No 19-18-00474)