Mind over motor mapping: Driver response to changing vehicle dynamics

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

et al. 2019

Self Cite

We have reported consistent associations of prenatal organophosphate pesticide (OP) exposure with poorer cognitive function and behavior problems in our Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), a birth cohort of Mexican American youth in California’s agricultural Salinas Valley. However, there is little evidence on how OPs affect neural dynamics underlying associations. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure cortical activation during tasks of executive function, attention, social cognition, and language comprehension in 95 adolescent CHAMACOS participants. We estimated associations of residential proximity to OP use during pregnancy with cortical activation in frontal, temporal, and parietal regions using multiple regression models, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. OP exposure was associated with altered brain activation during tasks of executive function. For example, with a 10-fold increase in total OP pesticide use within 1 km of maternal residence during pregnancy, there was a bilateral decrease in brain activation in the prefrontal cortex during a cognitive flexibility task (β = −4.74; 95% CI: −8.18, −1.31 and β = −4.40; 95% CI: −7.96, −0.84 for the left and right hemispheres, respectively). We also found that prenatal OP exposure was associated with sex differences in brain activation during a language comprehension task. This first functional neuroimaging study of prenatal OP exposure suggests that pesticides may impact cortical brain activation, which could underlie previously reported OP-related associations with cognitive and behavioral function. Use of fNIRS in environmental epidemiology offers a practical alternative to neuroimaging technologies and enhances our efforts to assess the impact of chemical exposures on neurodevelopment.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and functional neuroimaging in adolescents living in proximity to pesticide application

Sagiv

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

et al. 2019

Self Cite

“…Plastic supports were placed between each source/detector pair that constituted a recording channel to maintain a 3 cm source-detector distance. This consistency allowed us to subset the fNIRS channels of interest down to those directly measuring each region of interest, and to cluster those channels using established methods 26 , 36 , 37 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This filtered optical density data were then converted to oxy-hemoglobin (HbO) and deoxy-hemoglobin (HbR) values by way of the modified Beers-Lambert law. We employed a generalized linear model (GLM) approach to analyze our fNIRS data 26 , 36 , 41 , 42 . Specifically, a separate GLM was used to quantify cortical activations associated with HbO and HbR concentration for each analysis or condition listed below 43 , 44 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, a separate GLM was used to quantify cortical activations associated with HbO and HbR concentration for each analysis or condition listed below 43 , 44 . We employed an fNIRS source-based channel clustering and functional localization data reduction approach similar to those reported previously 26 , 36 , 37 . Channel localization within each cluster was first established within the HbO data, and then assessed within the same channels for the HbR data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, while significant steps have been taken, little is known regarding the neurobiological signatures of distraction while engaging in naturalistic driving. We argue that functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) affords a light-weight and portable brain imaging modality that is less sensitive to movement, thus making it amenable to driving studies 26 – 29 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Evaluation of smartphone interactions on drivers’ brain function and vehicle control in an immersive simulated environment

Piccirilli

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

Self Cite

Smartphones and other modern technologies have introduced multiple new forms of distraction that color the modern driving experience. While many smartphone functions aim to improve driving by providing the driver with real-time navigation and traffic updates, others, such as texting, are not compatible with driving and are often the cause of accidents. Because both functions elicit driver attention, an outstanding question is the degree to which drivers’ naturalistic interactions with navigation and texting applications differ in regard to brain and behavioral indices of distracted driving. Here, we employed functional near-infrared spectroscopy to examine the cortical activity that occurs under parametrically increasing levels of smartphone distraction during naturalistic driving. Our results highlight a significant increase in bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortical activity that occurs in response to increasingly greater levels of smartphone distraction that, in turn, predicts changes in common indices of vehicle control.

Mind over motor mapping: Driver response to changing vehicle dynamics

Gundran

et al. 2018

Human Brain Mapping

Improvements in vehicle safety require understanding of the neural systems that support the complex, dynamic task of real-world driving. We used functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and pupilometry to quantify cortical and physiological responses during a realistic, simulated driving task in which vehicle dynamics were manipulated. Our results elucidate compensatory changes in driver behavior in response to changes in vehicle handling. We also describe associated neural and physiological responses under different levels of mental workload. The increased cortical activation we observed during the late phase of the experiment may indicate motor learning in prefrontal-parietal networks. Finally, relationships among cortical activation, steering control, and individual personality traits suggest that individual brain states and traits may be useful in predicting a driver's response to changes in vehicle dynamics. Results such as these will be useful for informing the design of automated safety systems that facilitate safe and supportive driver-car communication.