Abstract
Driving a motor vehicle is an inherently complex task that requires robust control to avoid catastrophic accidents. Drivers must maintain their vehicle in the middle of the travel lane to avoid high speed collisions with other traffic. Interestingly, while a vehicle’s lane deviation (LD) is critical, studies have demonstrated that heading error (HE) is one of the primary variables drivers use to determine a steering response, which directly controls the position of the vehicle in the lane. In this study, we examined how the brain represents the dichotomy between control/response parameters (heading, reaction time (RT), and steering wheel corrections) and task-critical parameters (LD). Specifically, we examined electroencephalography (EEG) alpha band power (8–13 Hz) from estimated sources in right and left parietal regions, and related this activity to four metrics of driving performance. Our results demonstrate differential task involvement between the two hemispheres: right parietal activity was most closely related to LD, whereas left parietal activity was most closely related to HE, RT and steering responses. Furthermore, HE, RT and steering wheel corrections increased over the duration of the experiment while LD did not. Collectively, our results suggest that the brain uses differential monitoring and control strategies in the right and left parietal regions to control a motor vehicle. Our results suggest that the regulation of this control changes over time while maintaining critical task performance. These results are interpreted in two complementary theoretical frameworks: the uncontrolled manifold and compensatory control theories. The central tenet of these frameworks permits performance variability in parameters (i.e., HE, RT and steering) so far as it does not interfere with critical task execution (i.e., LD). Our results extend the existing research by demonstrating potential neural substrates for this phenomenon which may serve as potential targets for brain-computer interfaces that predict poor driving performance.
Highlights
Everyday visual-motor tasks involve complex interactions of multiple sensory signals that are converted into descending motor commands and translated to movement
We hypothesized that periods of relatively higher alpha power in parietal regions prior to the onset of the perturbation would show a strong relationship with these four driving performance metrics and that differential activity may provide insight into how the brain imparts control on a moving vehicle
Our findings suggest that the right parietal cortex reflects visuospatial processing that is critical for tracking vehicle kinematics for the central task, and fluctuations in alpha may capture fluctuations in attention that are critical for driving performance
Summary
Everyday visual-motor tasks involve complex interactions of multiple sensory signals that are converted into descending motor commands and translated to movement This concept has been formalized from a number of frameworks including sensorimotor transformations (Pouget and Snyder, 2000) and motor (feedback) control theory (reviewed in Shadmehr et al, 2010). A reaching movement that places the hand at a particular location can be achieved with variable orientations of the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints To address this issue, a theoretical framework emerged in which these degrees of freedom are allowed to freely vary so long as they do not interfere with the primary objective of acquiring the desired end state of the movement (reviewed in Todorov and Jordan, 2002; Scott, 2004). We examine how these control parameters may be monitored by the brain to ensure successful task execution
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