Research Article The Use of Virtual Reality for Episodic Memory Assessment Effects of Active Navigation Hélène Sauzéon, 1 Prashant Arvind Pala, 1 Florian Larrue, 1 Gregory Wallet, 1 Marie Déjos, 1 Xia Zheng, 1 Pascal Guitton, 2 and Bernard N’Kaoua 1 1 University of Bordeaux 2, Laboratoire EA 487 Cognition et Facteurs Humains, Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France, 2 University of Bordeaux 1 and INRA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, France Abstract. Episodic memory was assessed using Virtual Reality (VR). Forty-four (44) subjects visualized a target virtual apartment containing specific objects in each room. Then they visualized a second virtual apartment comprised of specific objects and objects shared by the two apartments. Subjects navigated in the virtual apartments in one of the following two conditions: active and passive. Four main episodic memory components were scored from the VR exposures: (1) learning effect; (2) active forgetting effect; (3) strategies at encoding and at retrieval; and (4) false recognitions (FRs). The effect of navigation mode (active vs. passive) on each memory component was examined. Active subjects had better learning and retrieval (recognition hits) performances compared to passive subjects. A beneficial effect of active navigation was also observed on the source-based FR rates. Active subjects made fewer source-based FRs compared to passive subjects. These overall results for the effect of active navigation are discussed in terms of the distinction between item-specific and relational processing. Keywords: episodic memory, assessment, virtual reality, active navigation Virtual Reality (VR) is gaining popularity as a tool in cogni- tive psychology and neuropsychology because it enables researchers and clinicians to create situations that are close to daily life with experimental control. Specific cognitive functions are being addressed with the VR technology such as memory, given its clinical value for neuropsychological diagnoses as well as predictions of daily life difficulties exhib- ited by patients (e.g., Brooks, Rose, Potter, Jayawardena, & Morling, 2004; Burgess, Maguire, & O’Keefe, 2002; Burgess, Maguire, Spiers, & O’Keefe, 2001; Matheis et al., 2007; Moffat & Resnick, 2002; Parslow et al., 2005; Parson & Rizzo, 2008). Because, in the virtual world, the person per- ceives and acts physically through sensory and motor inter- faces, VR technology is also seen as a promising tool for providing insights into the relationships between sensorimo- tor and cognitive functioning (for a review, see Schultheis & Rizzo, 2001). The main focus of studies using VR is the spatial aspect of memory rather than the memory of objects from complex episodes (e.g., Aguirre & D’Esposito, 1997; Fields & Shelton, 2006; Tlauka, Keage, & Clark, 2005; Weniger, Ruhleder, Wolf, Lange, & Irle, 2009). Thus, this study focused on object memory. The aims of this study were to investigate robust laboratory-based memory effects that provide clinically-relevant information relative to learning, proactive interference, strategic processing, and FR, and to study the possible influence of sensorimotor activity on these effects. Episodic memory is essential to effectively perform numerous everyday life activities. It enables human beings to consciously recall past experiences along with their spa- tial and temporal contexts (Tulving, 2002). An episodic memory trace is defined as the binding of the content and context of an event, including the integration of sensorimo- tor (i.e., visual, tactile, and auditory information), emotional as well as idiosyncratic aspects of that event. From the point of view of a clinical and neuropsychological assessment, an episodic memory task typically follows a two-step design (for a review, see Deluca & Chiaravalloti, 2004). First, dur- ing the study phase, a to-be-learned material is presented to the subject, often with an instruction to intentionally mem- orize it (because it can be difficult to measure recall when encoding is not controlled, like in incidental procedures). Second, at the test phase, the subject is asked to remember the studied material during a free recall, cued recall, or even a yes/no recognition task. Several paper-and-pencil-based memory tests are built up following this procedure such as the renowned California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) (Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 2000) which analytically assesses episodic memory functioning by providing mea- sures of learning, forgetting, strategic processing, or FR. Learning processes in the CVLT are measured across multi- ple free recall trials with the expected result of a progressive increase in performances across the trials (Sauze ´on, Claverie, & N’Kaoua, 2006). Forgetting processes in the Ó 2011 Hogrefe Publishing Experimental Psychology 2011 DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000131