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FNIRS resting-state frontoparietal dysconnectivity in older adults with MCI predicts spatial navigation in a virtual floor maze test

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Ian McDonough¹ (), Zahra Bassiri², Dalton Burchardt², Sunil Agrawal³, Joe Verghese⁴, Dario Martelli⁵; ¹Binghamton University, ²The University of Alabama, ³Columbia University, ⁴Stony Brook Neurosciences Institute, ⁵Medstar Health Research Institute

Spatial navigation is a sensitive indicator of dementia. Although Virtual Reality (VR) enables environmental control, most studies rely on non-immersive, in-place navigation. We developed a VR Floor Maze Test (VR-FMT) to assess real-space navigation and evaluate its sensitivity in detecting early dementia risk. Sixty-five cognitively normal (CN) adults and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) completed neuropsychological testing, fNIRS scans, and VR-FMT under two conditions: walking and keyboard. Mazes were presented with and without walls. While walking, MCI participants had significantly longer path lengths (p=.020), especially in the walls condition (p<.037). No significant effects were found in the keyboard condition. Only among those with MCI, better navigation performance in the walls condition was associated more greater use of route strategies (p=.049). The MCI Group was characterized by weaker connectivity overall in the PFC (interhemispheric and PFC-PPC), but stronger interhemispheric connections in the PPC than the CN group (pFDR<.05). While walking, we found a significant interaction for frontoparietal connectivity on path length (p<.001). Simple slopes show that lower frontoparietal connectivity among the MCI Group was associated with longer path length specifically in the walls condition (p=.008). None of the same three-way interactions were significant in the keyboard condition (p>.26). Navigation deficits in MCI appear rooted, in part, by navigation strategies mediated by functional connectivity between prefrontal and parietal regions—highlighting critical networks involved in spatial navigation beyond the medial temporal lobes. The VR-FMT is a promising tool for early detection of navigational deficits in dementia.

Topic Area: PERCEPTION & ACTION: Development & aging