Alpha spindles as neurophysiological correlates indicating attentional shift in a simulated driving task

Abstract

The intention of this paper is to describe neurophysiological correlates of driver distraction with highly robust parameters in the EEG (i.e. alpha spindles). In a simulated driving task with two different secondary tasks (i.e. visuomotor, auditory), N = 28 participants had to perform full stop brakes reacting to appearing stop signs and red traffic lights. Alpha spindle rate was significantly higher during an auditory secondary task and significantly lower during a visuomotor secondary task as compared to driving only. Alpha spindle duration was significantly shortened during a visuomotor secondary task. The results are consistent with the assumption that alpha spindles indicate active inhibition of visual information processing. Effects on the alpha spindles while performing secondary tasks on top of the driving task indicate attentional shift according to the task modality. As compared to alpha band power, both the measures of alpha spindle rate and alpha spindle duration were less vulnerable to artifacts and the effect sizes were larger, allowing for a more accurate description of the current driver state.