Electrophysiological Brain-Cardiac Coupling in Train Drivers during Monotonous Driving.

Ty Lees,Thomas Penzel,Taryn Chalmers,David Burton,Sara Lal,Eugene Zilberg,Shail Lal

doi:10.3390/ijerph18073741

Abstract

Electrophysiological research has previously investigated monotony and the cardiac health of drivers independently; however, few studies have explored the association between the two. As such the present study aimed to examine the impact of monotonous train driving (indicated by electroencephalogram (EEG) activity) on an individual’s cardiac health as measured by heart rate variability (HRV). Sixty-three train drivers participated in the present study, and were required to complete a monotonous train driver simulator task. During this task, a 32 lead EEG and a three-lead electrocardiogram were recorded from each participant. In the present analysis, the low (LF) and high frequency (HF) HRV parameters were associated with delta (p < 0.05), beta (p = 0.03) and gamma (p < 0.001) frequency EEG variables. Further, total HRV was associated with gamma activity, while sympathovagal balance (i.e., LF:HF ratio) was best associated fronto-temporal delta activity (p = 0.02). HRV and EEG parameters appear to be coupled, with the parameters of the delta and gamma EEG frequency bands potentially being the most important to this coupling. These relationships provide insight into the impact of a monotonous task on the cardiac health of train drivers, and may also be indicative of strategies employed to combat fatigue or engage with the driving task.

Highlights

Professional driving is often characterised by lengthy periods of monotony, as drivers are frequently exposed to long stretches of relatively little stimulation and activity
Positive associations were found between Log-transformed low frequency HRV (LFln) and occipital delta and gamma activity, as well as parietal gamma activity (Table 1)
A forward stepwise general linear regression analysis informed by the significant correlations was performed to examine the relationship between LFln heart rate variability (HRV) and EEG

Summary

Introduction

Professional driving is often characterised by lengthy periods of monotony, as drivers are frequently exposed to long stretches of relatively little stimulation and activity. Train driving is no exception, and is often considered more inherently monotonous than other driving industries because of the predetermined nature (with respect to time and destination/s) of the journey [1]. Driver fatigue has been associated with periods of hypovigilance [5,6], and increased likelihood of accidents [7,8,9]. This can have significant impact in train driving due to it inherently being a larger and heavier vehicle, which has a slower braking time and travels faster [10], and in the instance of passenger trains, the natural risk of carrying commuters

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Discussion

Conclusion