CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 12Spatial Cognition and NavigationAging and Gerontology ResearchCognitive Functions and Memory

Getting LOST : A conceptual framework for supporting and enhancing spatial navigation in aging

Open access
Weisberg, Steven M., Ebner, Natalie C., Seidler, Rachael D.·2024·WIREs Cognitive Science
DOI 10.1002/wcs.1669PMC PMC10939954
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Spatial navigation is more difficult and effortful for older than younger individuals, a shift which occurs for a variety of neurological, physical, and cognitive reasons associated with aging. Despite a large body of evidence documenting age‐related deficits in spatial navigation, comparatively less research addresses how to facilitate more effective navigation behavior for older adults. Since navigation challenges arise for a variety of reasons in old age, a one‐size‐fits‐all solution is unlikely to work. Here, we introduce a framework for the variety of spatial navigation challenges faced in aging, which we call LOST — Location, Orientation, Spatial mapping, and Transit . The LOST framework builds on evidence from the cognitive neuroscience of spatial navigation, which reveals distinct components underpinning human wayfinding. We evaluate research on navigational aids—devices and depictions—which help people find their way around; and we reflect on how navigation aids solve (or fail to solve) specific wayfinding difficulties faced by older adults. In summary, we emphasize a bespoke approach to improving spatial navigation in aging, which focuses on tailoring navigation solutions to specific navigation challenges. Our hope is that by providing precise support to older navigators, navigation opportunities can facilitate independence and exploration, while minimizing the danger of becoming lost. We conclude by delineating critical knowledge gaps in how to improve older adults' spatial navigation capacities that the novel LOST framework could guide to address. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Development and Aging Neuroscience > Cognition Neuroscience > Behavior

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/wcs.1669

Cites

15 of 15 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Navigational aids, including compasses, maps, street signs, and GPSs, offer external cues to support navigation by making location, orientation, or goal information easily available.

    “Navigational aids, including tools such as compasses, maps, street signs, and global positioning systems (GPSs), offer external cues to support navigation by making one or more of these properties easily available (Weisberg et al., 2023a).”

    From This is not the way: global directional cues do not improve spatial learning in an immersive virtual environment (2025) · cites this paper as Weisberg et al., 2023a

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Weisberg, S. M., Ebner, N. C., & Seidler, R. D.
Affiliations
University of Florida Health (US)
Corresponding author
Weisberg, Steven M.
ORCID
Venue
WIREs Cognitive Science
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2023-11-07
Volume
15
Issue
2
Pages
e1669-e1669
ISSN
  • 1939-5078 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-5086
DOI
10.1002/wcs.1669
PMC
PMC10939954
OpenAlex
W4388456478
Cited by
12
References
15
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 1
FWCI
0.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Cognitive Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Florida Department of Health (21A09)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R21NS120237)
  • National Institute on Aging (K01AG070333, U01AG061389)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords
spatial navigation, aging, wayfinding, older adults, navigation aids, location, orientation, spatial mapping, transit, cognitive aging
MeSH terms
Aged, Aging, Humans, Spatial Navigation

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review