81011895

open access

Version of Record

Frontal lobe activity during simulated driving : Differences between healthy individuals and individuals with brain damage

English (英語)

Bulletin of health sciences Kobe

34

27-45

Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University

2018

2019-10-23

Aims: This study aimed to analyze frontal lobe activity in healthy individuals and individuals with brain damage as they simulate driving (i.e., making a left turn [LT], making a right turn [RT], and changing lanes). Methods: Twenty-six healthy individuals and 19 patients with brain damage were included in the analysis. Frontal lobe activity was analyzed with functional near-infrared spectroscopy using the Driving Simulator for Brain Activity Measurement, a version of the Driving Simulator for safe driving education. Elements, such as pedestrians and oncoming cars, were added to the driving situations, which consisted of LTs, RTs, and lane changes (LCs). Results: Frontal lobe activity increased when individuals in the healthy group encountered situations such as LTs, RTs, pedestrians, and oncoming cars. In patients, frontal lobe activation was not observed during a LT, RT, or LC. Discussion: Activity of the frontal lobe increased in the presence of pedestrians and oncoming cars in addition to simple driving in the healthy group, likely as an effect of the dual-tasking required in directing attention to pedestrians or oncoming cars. In the patient group, there were no significant frontal lobe activation may have been affected by declined attention while multi-tasking.

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