Audio-Corsi: a novel system to evaluate audio-spatial memory skills.

Spatial memory (SM) is a multimodal representation of the external world, which different sensory inputs can mediate. It is essential in accomplishing everyday activities and strongly correlates with sleep processes. However, despite valuable knowledge of the spatial mechanisms in the visual modality, the multi-sensory aspects of SM have yet to be thoroughly investigated due to a lack of proper technologies.This work presents a novel acoustic system built around 3D audio spatial technology. Our goal was to examine if an afternoon nap can improve memory performance, measured through the acoustic version of the Corsi Block Tapping Task (CBTT), named Audio-Corsi. We tested five adults over two days. During one of the two days (Wake), participants performed the Audio-Corsi before (Pre) and after (Post) a wake resting period; while the other day (Sleep), participants performed the Audio-Corsi before (Pre) and after (Post) a nap. Day orders were randomized. We calculated the memory span for the Pre and Post session in both the Wake and Sleep days. Preliminary results show a significant difference in the memory span between the Wake and Sleep days. Specifically, memory span decreased between the pre-and post-test during the wake day. The opposite trend was found for the sleep day. Results indicate that SM can be improved by sleeping also in the acoustic modality other than the visual one.Clinical Relevance- The technology and procedure we designed and developed could be suitable in clinical and experimental settings to study high-level cognitive skills in the auditory sensory modality and their relationship with sleep, especially when vision is absent or distorted (i.e. blindness).

Audio drawing and working memory in blindness: design, development and validation of a multi-sensory system.

Working memory (WM) plays a crucial role in helping individuals perform everyday activities and interact with the external environment. However, despite valuable insights into visual memory mechanisms, the multi-sensory aspects of WM have not been thoroughly investigated, especially in congenitally blind individuals, primarily due to a lack of proper technologies. This work presents an audio-haptic system to study the generation and recall of multi-sensory spatial representations in visually impaired and sighted individuals. Precisely, we developed an audio-tactile tablet composed of a set of spatialized speakers covered by tactile sensors and tri-modal stimulations units providing acoustic, visual, and haptic feedback. Furthermore, we integrated these two systems among each other. Interestingly, visually impaired and sighted adults could easily interact with these devices. Technologies like the ones we developed might be suitable in experimental and clinical settings to study the influence of the different sensory modalities on high-level cognitive skills and the impact of early visual deprivation on such abilities for rehabilitative intervention since the first period of life.