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Mental workload is reflected in driver behaviour, physiology, eye movements and prefrontal cortex activation
1School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
Applied Ergonomics
|August 13, 2018
Summary
Driver mental workload, influenced by road changes, affects behavior and brain activity. Monitoring these changes can improve driving systems.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human-computer interaction
Background:
- Mental workload is critical in driving; both high and low levels can lead to errors.
- Understanding how road environment changes affect drivers is essential for safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of road environment changes on driver mental workload.
- To analyze the effects on behavior, physiological responses, eye movements, and brain activity.
Main Methods:
- Simulated driving experiment.
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure prefrontal cortex activation.
- Subjective workload ratings, skin conductance, acceleration signatures, and eye movement analysis.
Main Results:
- Increased mental workload due to road type changes correlated with higher skin conductance, altered acceleration, and wider eye search patterns.
- Prefrontal cortex activation, indicated by increased oxygenated hemoglobin, rose with subjective mental workload.
Conclusions:
- Mental workload during driving is dynamic and can be objectively measured.
- These findings can inform the design of advanced in-vehicle and partially autonomous driving systems.
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