Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2011 Mar;79(3):347-55. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.12.002. Epub 2010 Dec 10.
The present study examines theta oscillations (electroencephalographic (EEG) activity with a frequency of 4-8 Hz) in male and female young adults during spatial navigation in virtual environments. Twenty-seven participants (13 males and 14 females) performed a spatial navigation task in a virtual maze where they had to find the shortest ways between landmarks. Absolute theta band power and event-related desynchronisation/synchronisation (ERD/ERS) in the theta frequency band was used to analyze the EEG data. Processing of spatial cues or landmarks induced cortical theta activity compared to a baseline condition, confirming the hypothesis that theta oscillations reflect sensorimotor integration. The sensorimotor integration hypothesis proposes that theta oscillations coordinate sensory information with a motor plan to direct wayfinding behaviour to known goal locations. No sex differences were found in spatial performance. However, female participants showed a stronger increase in theta oscillations during processing of landmarks as navigational aids compared to a baseline condition than men. Additionally, a higher theta power was associated with an increased navigation performance in women, whereas an increase in theta power was associated with a decreased navigation performance in men. These results might indicate a stronger sensorimotor integration in females than in males. Possible explanations for the emerged sex differences in cortical theta activity are discussed.
本研究考察了男性和女性青年在虚拟环境中进行空间导航时的θ振荡（频率为 4-8 Hz 的脑电图（EEG）活动）。27 名参与者（13 名男性和 14 名女性）在一个虚拟迷宫中执行空间导航任务，他们必须在地标之间找到最短的路径。使用绝对θ频带功率和与事件相关的去同步/同步（ERD/ERS）来分析 EEG 数据。与基线条件相比，空间线索或地标处理诱导了皮质θ活动，证实了θ振荡反映感觉运动整合的假设。感觉运动整合假说提出，θ振荡将感觉信息与运动计划协调起来，以将寻路行为引导至已知的目标位置。在空间表现方面没有发现性别差异。然而，与男性相比，女性参与者在处理地标作为导航辅助时，θ 振荡的增加更为明显。此外，女性的θ功率增加与导航表现的提高相关，而男性的θ功率增加与导航表现的下降相关。这些结果可能表明女性的感觉运动整合比男性更强。讨论了出现的皮质θ活动性别差异的可能解释。
