Embedding auditory cognitive tasks in realistic spatial contexts

Human cognition is embodied within a real-world spatial context that supports situational awareness, attention, and spatial memory. To maximize experimental control, lab-based research strips away this context, limiting the external validity of perceptual and cognitive measures. Thus, variation in such measures may strongly reflect individuals’ ability to tolerate or supplement this missing context rather than the cognitive skills themselves. Virtual environments can approximate spatial aspects of the real world while affording a high degree of experimental and stimulus control, thus “bringing the real world into the lab” [Stecker, Hear J. 72(6), 20–23 (2019)] and restoring (some) contextual dependencies of real-world cognition. Here, we report on using virtual reality to embed tests of auditory attention and working memory within semi-realistic spatial/perceptual contexts. In this approach, the complexity of spatial scenes (e.g., multiple talkers) and of tasks can be varied to better match real-world settings and better assess individuals’ use of context when deploying cognitive skills. [Work supported by US NIH R01-DC016643.]