This study newly assessed visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) in young and older adults with an extended version of the backward Corsi Blocks Task (CBT): the backward Walking Corsi Test (WalCT). It involves recalling sequences of spatial locations while moving in an indoor space (2.5 × 3m) in which the CBT layout is recreated on the floor. The specific contribution of the backward WalCT (beyond that of the backward CBT) to explaining age-related effects on spatial rotation abilities was explored. Seventy young adults and 56 older adults performed the backward WalCT, classic VSWM tasks, self-assessments on pleasure in exploring and spatial anxiety, and mental rotation and perspective-taking tasks. Mediation models for the mental rotation and perspective-taking measures showed a direct age-related effect on both the backward WalCT and backward CBT, and an indirect one on the two spatial rotation abilities, mediated by the backward WalCT and - partly - the backward CBT. In particular, age-related effects on mental rotation were explained by the backward WalCT, while those on perspective-taking were explained by both the backward WalCT and backward CBT. The backward WalCT can be considered a measure suitable for assessing VSWM in older adults, which also explains age-related effects on mental rotation and perspective-taking performance.

中文翻译：

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使用步行 Corsi 测试来解释年轻人和老年人轮换表现之间与年龄相关的差异

这项研究通过向后 Corsi 块任务 (CBT) 的扩展版本：向后步行 Corsi 测试 (WalCT)，新评估了年轻人和老年人的视觉空间工作记忆 (VSWM)。它涉及在室内空间 (2.5 × 3m) 中移动时回忆空间位置序列，其中 CBT 布局在地板上重新创建。探索了后向 WalCT（超越后向 CBT）对解释与年龄相关的空间旋转能力影响的具体贡献。70 名年轻人和 56 名老年人进行了反向 WalCT、经典 VSWM 任务、探索乐趣和空间焦虑的自我评估以及心理旋转和观点采择任务。心理旋转和观点采择措施的中介模型对后向 WalCT 和后向 CBT 均显示出与年龄相关的直接影响，以及两种空间旋转能力的间接能力，由向后的 WalCT 和 - 部分 - 向后的 CBT 介导。特别是，逆向 WalCT 解释了与年龄相关的心理旋转的影响，而后向 WalCT 和逆向 CBT 解释了观点采择的影响。后向 WalCT 可以被认为是一种适合评估老年人 VSWM 的措施，这也解释了与年龄相关的心理旋转和观点采择表现的影响。