Brain Research Center, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2011 Feb 18;8:11. doi: 10.1186/1743-0003-8-11.
Driver distraction is a significant cause of traffic accidents. The aim of this study is to investigate Electroencephalography (EEG) dynamics in relation to distraction during driving. To study human cognition under a specific driving task, simulated real driving using virtual reality (VR)-based simulation and designed dual-task events are built, which include unexpected car deviations and mathematics questions.
We designed five cases with different stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) to investigate the distraction effects between the deviations and equations. The EEG channel signals are first converted into separated brain sources by independent component analysis (ICA). Then, event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) changes of the EEG power spectrum are used to evaluate brain dynamics in time-frequency domains.
Power increases in the theta and beta bands are observed in relation with distraction effects in the frontal cortex. In the motor area, alpha and beta power suppressions are also observed. All of the above results are consistently observed across 15 subjects. Additionally, further analysis demonstrates that response time and multiple cortical EEG power both changed significantly with different SOA.
This study suggests that theta power increases in the frontal area is related to driver distraction and represents the strength of distraction in real-life situations.
驾驶员分神是交通事故的一个重要原因。本研究旨在探讨驾驶时脑电图（EEG）动力学与分心的关系。为了在特定驾驶任务下研究人类认知，使用基于虚拟现实（VR）的模拟设计了双任务事件，包括意外的车辆偏离和数学问题。
我们设计了五个具有不同刺激起始时间间隔（SOA）的案例，以研究偏离和方程之间的分心效应。首先通过独立成分分析（ICA）将 EEG 通道信号转换为分离的脑源。然后，使用事件相关频谱微扰（ERSP）来评估脑电频谱在时频域中的动态变化。
在额叶皮层中观察到与分心效应相关的θ和β波段的功率增加。在运动区，也观察到α和β波段的功率抑制。所有这些结果在 15 个被试中都是一致观察到的。此外，进一步的分析表明，不同 SOA 下的反应时间和多个皮质 EEG 功率都发生了显著变化。
本研究表明，额叶区的θ功率增加与驾驶员分心有关，代表了实际情况下分心的强度。
