Increase in brain activation due to sub-tasks during driving: fMRI study using new MR-compatible driving simulator

Abstract

BackgroundSeveral studies have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show that neural activity is associated with driving. fMRI studies have also elucidated the brain responses associated with driving while performing sub-tasks. It is important to note that these studies used computer mouses, trackballs, or joysticks to simulate driving and, thus, were not comparable to real driving situations. In order to overcome these limitations, we used a driving wheel and pedal equipped with an MR-compatible driving simulator (80 km/h). The subjects drove while performing sub-tasks, and we attempted to observe differences in neuronal activation.MethodsThe experiments consisted of three blocks and each block consisted of both a control phase (1 min) and a driving phase (2 min). During the control phase, the drivers were instructed to look at the stop screen and to not perform driving tasks. During the driving phase, the drivers either drove (driving only condition) or drove while performing an additional sub-task (driving with sub-task condition) at 80 km/h.ResultsCompared to when the drivers were focused only on driving, when the drivers drove while performing a sub-task, the number of activation voxels greatly decreased in the parietal area, which is responsible for spatial perception. Task-performing areas, such as the inferior frontal gyrus and the superior temporal gyrus, showed increased activation. Performing a sub-task simultaneously while driving had affected the driver’s driving. The cingulate gyrus and the sub-lobar region (lentiform nucleus, caudate, insula, and thalamus), which are responsible for error monitoring and control of unnecessary movements (e.g., wheel and pedal movements), showed increased activation during driving with sub-task condition compared to driving only condition.ConclusionsUnlike simple driving simulators (joysticks, computer mouses, or trackballs) used in previous research, the addition of a driving wheel and pedals (accelerator and brake) to the driving simulator used in this study closely represents real driving. Thus, the number of processed movements was increased, which led to an increased number of unnecessary movements that needed to be controlled. This in turn increased activation in the corresponding brain regions.

Driving Ability in Alzheimer Disease Spectrum: Neural Basis, Assessment, and Potential Use of Optic Flow Event-Related Potentials

“…Driving requires the coordination of multiple cognitive functions and recruitment of associated multiple brain regions. Several fMRI studies on various driving tasks have demonstrated the activation of widespread brain network including occipital, parietal, frontal, motor and cerebellar regions and others to maintain safe driving ( 4 – 8 ). Figure 1 shows an example of activated brain regions while driving in a recent fMRI study ( 4 ).…”

“…Several fMRI studies on various driving tasks have demonstrated the activation of widespread brain network including occipital, parietal, frontal, motor and cerebellar regions and others to maintain safe driving ( 4 – 8 ). Figure 1 shows an example of activated brain regions while driving in a recent fMRI study ( 4 ). In their study, during driving only condition, the occipital activations were observed in the inferior, superior and middle occipital gyri and lingual gyrus.…”

“…The activations of the cerebellum included the uvular, declive, and cerebellar tonsil. In addition, the limbic region such as cingulate gyrus, sub-lobar region including insula and lentiform nucleus were activated ( 4 ).…”

“…Driving is a complicated skill that needs to integrate multiple cognitive, perceptual and motor abilities ( 3 ), and is supported by widely distributed brain network responsible for these complex processes ( 4 – 8 ). The driving ability can be disturbed by a decline in these brain networks due to normal aging and cognitive impairment such as dementia ( 3 , 9 – 11 ).…”

Contributions of the Left- and the Right-Hemisphere on the Language-Induced Grip Force Modulation of the Left Hand in Unimanual Task

“…Cortical activation is more symmetrical when drawing [12], with a more intense activation of right hemisphere regions related to language comparatively to writing [13]. Besides, there are verbs that express actions carried out with either hand, such as "hold" and "pull," whose central processing is also left-lateralized [14,15] and verbs that describe coordinated asymmetric bimanual activities such as "tie" and "drive", whose central processing is non-lateralized and more symmetrical [16][17][18]. Although all these manual action verbs describe activities performed by the right hand in right-handers, the possibility that they describe an activity performed by the left hand is variable.…”