The Spatial Updating Mechanism of Different Field Cognitive Styles in Various Scene Layouts: Evidence from Behavior and fNIRS

Spatial updating-the ability to continuously revise spatial representations during locomotion-is fundamental to adaptive navigation and depends on flexible reference frames. Although previous research has established independent effects of field cognitive style and scene layout on spatial performance, their interaction and underlying neural substrates remain poorly understood. The present study examined how field dependence-independence and environment geometry jointly modulate spatial updating by combing the judgment of relative direction (JRD) paradigm with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Forty participants were recruited and assigned to two groups (20 field-independent [FI] and 20 field-dependent [FD]) based on Embedded Figures Test scores. They completed directional pointing tasks in two virtual environments: a geometrically structured rectangular spaces affording explicit orthogonal reference axes and an ambiguous oval environments devoid of stable global geometric anchors. Behaviorally, FI individuals exhibited shorter response time in rectangular layouts yet superior accuracy in oval layouts relative to FD individuals. Neurally, the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) emerged as a critical locus exhibiting a significant interaction effect between cognitive style and environmental layout. Significant main effects of field cognitive style were observed in the precentral gyrus, superior parietal lobule, and paracentral lobule, with FI individuals showing greater oxyhemoglobin (HbO) elevation than FD participants. Collectively, these findings may tentatively suggest an interpretation that FI individuals flexibly alternate between internal egocentric and external allocentric reference frames during spatial information processing, whereas FD individuals predominantly rely on inherent structural cues embedded in the external environment. These findings may reflect cortical hemodynamic correlates of field cognitive style differences during spatial processing, and may offer empirical references for relevant cognitive neuroscience research and subsequent exploratory applications.