Age-Related Differences in Pro-active Driving Behavior Revealed by EEG Measures
Healthy aging is associated with a decline in cognitive functions. This may become an issue when complex tasks have to be performed like driving a car in a demanding traffic situation. On the other hand, older people are able to compensate for age-related deficits, e.g., by deploying extra mental ef...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00321/full |
| _version_ | 1818035576516902912 |
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| author | Stephan Getzmann Stefan Arnau Melanie Karthaus Julian Elias Reiser Edmund Wascher |
| author_facet | Stephan Getzmann Stefan Arnau Melanie Karthaus Julian Elias Reiser Edmund Wascher |
| author_sort | Stephan Getzmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Healthy aging is associated with a decline in cognitive functions. This may become an issue when complex tasks have to be performed like driving a car in a demanding traffic situation. On the other hand, older people are able to compensate for age-related deficits, e.g., by deploying extra mental effort and other compensatory strategies. The present study investigated the interplay of age, task workload, and mental effort using EEG measures and a proactive driving task, in which 16 younger and 16 older participants had to keep a virtual car on track on a curvy road. Total oscillatory power and relative power in Theta and Alpha bands were analyzed, as well as event-related potentials (ERPs) to task-irrelevant regular and irregular sound stimuli. Steering variability and Theta power increased with increasing task load (i.e., with shaper bends of the road), while Alpha power decreased. This pattern of workload and mental effort was found in both age groups. However, only in the older group a relationship between steering variability and Theta power occurred: better steering performance was associated with higher Theta power, reflecting higher mental effort. Higher Theta power while driving was also associated with a stronger increase in reported subjective fatigue in the older group. In the younger group, lower steering variability came along with lower ERP responses to deviant sound stimuli, reflecting reduced processing of task-irrelevant environmental stimuli. In sum, better performance in proactive driving (i.e., more alert steering behavior) was associated with increased mental effort in the older group, and higher attentional focus on the task in the younger group, indicating age-specific strategies in the way younger and older drivers manage demanding (driving) tasks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:57:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1935f7c5dad34c93b5b437ef01daf454 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:57:15Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-1935f7c5dad34c93b5b437ef01daf4542022-12-22T01:58:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612018-08-011210.3389/fnhum.2018.00321394381Age-Related Differences in Pro-active Driving Behavior Revealed by EEG MeasuresStephan GetzmannStefan ArnauMelanie KarthausJulian Elias ReiserEdmund WascherHealthy aging is associated with a decline in cognitive functions. This may become an issue when complex tasks have to be performed like driving a car in a demanding traffic situation. On the other hand, older people are able to compensate for age-related deficits, e.g., by deploying extra mental effort and other compensatory strategies. The present study investigated the interplay of age, task workload, and mental effort using EEG measures and a proactive driving task, in which 16 younger and 16 older participants had to keep a virtual car on track on a curvy road. Total oscillatory power and relative power in Theta and Alpha bands were analyzed, as well as event-related potentials (ERPs) to task-irrelevant regular and irregular sound stimuli. Steering variability and Theta power increased with increasing task load (i.e., with shaper bends of the road), while Alpha power decreased. This pattern of workload and mental effort was found in both age groups. However, only in the older group a relationship between steering variability and Theta power occurred: better steering performance was associated with higher Theta power, reflecting higher mental effort. Higher Theta power while driving was also associated with a stronger increase in reported subjective fatigue in the older group. In the younger group, lower steering variability came along with lower ERP responses to deviant sound stimuli, reflecting reduced processing of task-irrelevant environmental stimuli. In sum, better performance in proactive driving (i.e., more alert steering behavior) was associated with increased mental effort in the older group, and higher attentional focus on the task in the younger group, indicating age-specific strategies in the way younger and older drivers manage demanding (driving) tasks.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00321/fullEEGagingproactive drivingmental effortworkloadalpha oscillations |
| spellingShingle | Stephan Getzmann Stefan Arnau Melanie Karthaus Julian Elias Reiser Edmund Wascher Age-Related Differences in Pro-active Driving Behavior Revealed by EEG Measures Frontiers in Human Neuroscience EEG aging proactive driving mental effort workload alpha oscillations |
| title | Age-Related Differences in Pro-active Driving Behavior Revealed by EEG Measures |
| title_full | Age-Related Differences in Pro-active Driving Behavior Revealed by EEG Measures |
| title_fullStr | Age-Related Differences in Pro-active Driving Behavior Revealed by EEG Measures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age-Related Differences in Pro-active Driving Behavior Revealed by EEG Measures |
| title_short | Age-Related Differences in Pro-active Driving Behavior Revealed by EEG Measures |
| title_sort | age related differences in pro active driving behavior revealed by eeg measures |
| topic | EEG aging proactive driving mental effort workload alpha oscillations |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00321/full |
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