Embodied Cognition and Street-Crossing in Real and Simulated Ageing

Few studies have explored ageing through the prism of an embodied and situated approach to cognition. Due to its sensorimotor and cognitive components, crossing the street is a good paradigm to tackle this issue. Using an experimental approach, an ageing simulation suit was used to disentangle cognition from its sensorimotor context in 29 young participants compared to 28 young participants and 22 older participants who did not wear the suit. Over three blocks of 34 trials, participants crossed a two-way street in a virtual reality platform. Their visual, auditory and cognitive performances were evaluated. Results showed sensorimotor decreases but no cognitive declines for participants wearing the suit. Interestingly, overall street-crossing performances were altered with the sensorimotor impairments provoked by real as well as simulated ageing. These findings help address the links between sensorimotor and cognitive declines in ageing and demonstrate the relevance of using the GERT suit to simulate ageing.