Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Department of Health and Exercise Science, Movement Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
Exp Brain Res. 2022 Apr;240(4):1045-1055. doi: 10.1007/s00221-022-06330-w. Epub 2022 Feb 21.
Fast and accurate braking is essential for safe driving and relies on efficient cognitive and motor processes. Despite the known sex differences in overall driving behavior, it is unclear whether sex differences exist in the objective assessment of driving-related tasks in older adults. Furthermore, it is unknown whether cognitive-motor processes are differentially affected in men and women with advancing age. We aimed to determine sex differences in the cognitive-motor components of the braking performance in older adults. Fourteen men (63.06 ± 8.53 years) and 14 women (67.89 ± 11.81 years) performed a braking task in a simulated driving environment. Participants followed a lead car and applied a quick and controlled braking force in response to the rear lights of the lead car. We quantified braking accuracy and response time. Importantly, we also decomposed response time in its cognitive (pre-motor response time) and motor (motor response time) components. Lastly, we examined whether sex differences in the activation and coordination of the involved muscles could explain differences in performance. We found sex differences in the cognitive-motor components of braking performance with advancing age. Specifically, the cognitive processing speed is 27.41% slower in women, while the motor execution speed is 24.31% slower in men during the braking task. The opposite directions of impairment in the cognitive and motor speeds contributed to comparable overall braking speed across sexes. The sex differences in the activation of the involved muscles did not relate to response time differences between men and women. The exponential increase in the number of older drivers raises concerns about potential effects on traffic and driver safety. We demonstrate the presence of sex differences in the cognitive-motor components of braking performance with advancing age. Driving rehabilitation should consider differential strategies for ameliorating sex-specific deficits in cognitive and motor speeds to enhance braking performance in older adults.
快速准确的制动对于安全驾驶至关重要，这依赖于高效的认知和运动过程。尽管已知在整体驾驶行为方面存在性别差异，但在老年人的驾驶相关任务的客观评估中是否存在性别差异尚不清楚。此外，尚不清楚认知-运动过程是否会随着年龄的增长而在男性和女性中受到不同的影响。我们旨在确定老年人制动性能的认知-运动成分中的性别差异。14 名男性（63.06±8.53 岁）和 14 名女性（67.89±11.81 岁）在模拟驾驶环境中执行制动任务。参与者跟随前车，并根据前车的尾灯快速、受控地施加制动力。我们量化了制动准确性和响应时间。重要的是，我们还将响应时间分解为认知（预运动响应时间）和运动（运动响应时间）成分。最后，我们检查了参与肌肉的激活和协调是否可以解释性能差异。我们发现，随着年龄的增长，制动性能的认知-运动成分存在性别差异。具体来说，在制动任务中，女性的认知加工速度慢 27.41%，而男性的运动执行速度慢 24.31%。认知和运动速度的损伤方向相反，导致男性和女性的整体制动速度相当。参与肌肉的激活的性别差异与男性和女性之间的响应时间差异无关。随着老年驾驶员数量的指数级增长，人们对潜在的交通和驾驶员安全影响表示担忧。我们证明了随着年龄的增长，制动性能的认知-运动成分存在性别差异。驾驶康复应考虑采用差异化策略来改善认知和运动速度的性别特异性缺陷，以提高老年人的制动性能。
