The effects of chronic stress on allocentric versus egocentric spatial memory

Abstract

Spatial navigation is a skill that is critically dependent upon an organism’s ability to remember object locations and orient themselves in an environment. Two strategies commonly examined in spatial memory research are allocentric (ALLO) and egocentric (EGO). Individuals using an ALLO strategy orient with respect to a cognitive map of distal environmental boundaries, while those using an EGO strategy orient with respect to themselves and singular proximal landmark cues. Stress affects spatial memory, but it is unclear whether one strategy more than the other enhances processing in the context of chronic stress. The present study examined the effects of chronic stress on ALLO and EGO spatial memory. A final sample of forty-two male participants completed a chronic stress measure and then a spatial memory dual-strategy navigation task with ALLO and EGO cues. Participants’ preferred strategy was determined by identifying which strategy they relied upon to guess the previously viewed location of an invisible target. Participants’ EGO and ALLO performance was determined by examining how accurate their guesses were on trials for which only one cue type was an accurate predictor. Chronic stress variables (frequency and severity) from chronic stressors that occurred during childhood as well as overall chronic stress were examined as potential predictors of visuospatial strategy performance in a series of regression analyses. Regression analyses were also used to examine chronic stress variables (frequency and severity) from chronic stressors that occurred during childhood as well as overall chronic stress as potential predictors of strategy preference scores. A greater number of chronic stress events was associated with a greater preference for EGO strategy use, but no relationships were found when examining chronic stress severity, performance, and childhood chronic stressors. The findings suggest that chronic stress—specifically overall chronic stress—may be an important factor related to visuospatial memory preference.