Functional brain mapping of actual car-driving using [18F]FDG-PET

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Previous brain imaging studies on driving have primarily used simulations.
• Understanding real-world driving brain activation is crucial for safety and driver monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify brain activation patterns during actual road driving.
• To compare these patterns with those observed during simulated driving.

Main Methods:

• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with [18F]2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) was used.
• Thirty participants were divided into active driving, passive driving, and control groups.
• Voxel-based t-statistics (SPM2) analyzed brain activation differences.

Main Results:

• Active driving showed significant activation in visual, sensorimotor, premotor, and parietal areas, as well as the cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, thalamus, and cerebellum.
• Passive driving showed similar patterns but lacked activation in the premotor area, cingulate and parahippocampal gyri, and thalamus.
• Direct comparison revealed specific cerebellar activation during active driving.

Conclusions:

• Actual driving brain activation is broadly similar to simulated driving, highlighting the roles of visual perception and visuomotor coordination.
• Significant differences in attention and autonomic arousal suggest that the perceived risk of accidents in real-world driving influences neural activity.
• Future research should employ actual driving designs to investigate the autonomic and emotional aspects of driving.