Abstract
We aimed to examine cerebral oscillatory differences associated with psychological processes during simulated car driving. We recorded neuromagnetic signals in 14 healthy volunteers using magnetoencephalography (MEG) during simulated driving. MEG data were analyzed using synthetic aperture magnetometry to detect the spatial distribution of cerebral oscillations. Group effects between subjects were analyzed statistically using a non-parametric permutation test. Oscillatory differences were calculated by comparison between “passive viewing” and “active driving.” “Passive viewing” was the baseline, and oscillatory differences during “active driving” showed an increase or decrease in comparison with a baseline. Power increase in the theta band was detected in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) during active driving. Power decreases in the alpha, beta, and low gamma bands were detected in the right inferior parietal lobe (IPL), left postcentral gyrus (PoCG), middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and posterior cingulate gyrus (PCiG) during active driving. Power increase in the theta band in the SFG may play a role in attention. Power decrease in the right IPL may reflect selectively divided attention and visuospatial processing, whereas that in the left PoCG reflects sensorimotor activation related to driving manipulation. Power decreases in the MTG and PCiG may be associated with object recognition.
Highlights
Operating a motor vehicle is a human superior ability that involves many psychological processes of concentration, attention, motor control, and visuomotor integration
OSCILLATORY DIFFERENCES DURING ACTIVE DRIVING Local oscillatory differences were detected during active driving in comparison with passive viewing in multiple brain regions, including the medial prefrontal cortex (MPC), postcentral gyrus (PoCG), posterior parietal area, temporo-occipital area, and occipital gyrus (Table 1)
Power increase in the theta band was observed in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) during active driving in comparison with passive viewing [Figure 3A; p < 0.05, family-wise error (FWE) corrected]; theta power increase was observed in the medial frontal gyrus (MFG; Table 1)
Summary
Operating a motor vehicle is a human superior ability that involves many psychological processes of concentration, attention, motor control, and visuomotor integration. In an electroencephalography (EEG) study using driving simulators, Laukka et al (1995) showed that theta band increase in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPC) reflects concentration, and Schier (2000) showed that alpha band decrease in the posterior area reflects attention. These signal power increases and decreases are called oscillatory differences, and they are responses to specific events (Pfurtscheller and Lopes da Silva, 1999a). Previous neuroimaging studies with driving simulators lacked driving reality They used a simple joystick or a game pad controller (Walter et al, 2001; Uchiyama et al, 2003) for driving. We hypothesized that oscillatory differences in frontal and parietal regions associated with concentration and attention required for driving could be detected
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