Driving Simulation Laboratory, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43212, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA.
Accid Anal Prev. 2023 Dec;193:107299. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2023.107299. Epub 2023 Sep 25.
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can impair executive function, learning, and memory, which can negatively impact driving ability. However, little is known how the driving performance of young drivers may be impacted acutely after mTBI. This study aimed to evaluate simulated driving within 96 h of mTBI among young drivers as compared to matched healthy controls, and assess the effects of increased cognitive load on driving performance.
Injured young drivers ages 16 to 24 with physician-confirmed mTBI were enrolled from two sites (University of Alabama at Birmingham and Ohio State University) and completed the assessment on a high-fidelity driving simulator within 96 h of injury. Matched healthy controls were young drivers without mTBIs matched with an index mTBI by age, sex, athlete status, and driving experience. Participants drove four scenarios in a 2x2 design: with/without cognitive load and with/without critical events. Linear mixed models were used to compare the driving outcomes between mTBI drivers and healthy controls.
A total of 38 participants were included, with 25 cases and 13 controls. Standard deviation of lateral position, following distance and reaction time were analyzed. The preliminary findings indicated that mTBI drivers tended to maintain more distance to the car in front of them than healthy controls. High cognitive load was associated with slower reaction time regardless of TBI status.
This study is the first to assess simulated driving performance among young drivers with mTBI acutely post-injury. The findings will have important clinical implications on when young drivers may return to driver post-mTBI and at what conditions. Additional research is warranted to confirm these results.
轻度创伤性脑损伤（mTBI）可损害执行功能、学习和记忆，从而对驾驶能力产生负面影响。然而，人们对 mTBI 后年轻驾驶员的驾驶性能如何在短期内受到影响知之甚少。本研究旨在评估 mTBI 后 96 小时内年轻驾驶员的模拟驾驶情况，并比较其与匹配的健康对照组的差异，评估认知负荷增加对驾驶表现的影响。
本研究从两个地点（阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校和俄亥俄州立大学）招募了年龄在 16 至 24 岁之间、经医生确诊为 mTBI 的年轻驾驶员，并在受伤后 96 小时内使用高保真驾驶模拟器进行评估。匹配的健康对照组由没有 mTBI 的年轻驾驶员组成，他们与指数 mTBI 按年龄、性别、运动员身份和驾驶经验相匹配。参与者在 2x2 设计中完成四个场景的驾驶：有/无认知负荷和有/无关键事件。使用线性混合模型比较 mTBI 驾驶员和健康对照组的驾驶结果。
共有 38 名参与者被纳入研究，其中 25 例为病例组，13 例为对照组。分析了横向位置、跟车距离和反应时间的标准差。初步结果表明，mTBI 驾驶员倾向于与前车保持更大的距离。无论 TBI 状态如何，高认知负荷都会导致反应时间变慢。
本研究首次评估了 mTBI 后年轻驾驶员的急性模拟驾驶表现。这些发现对年轻驾驶员在 mTBI 后何时可以恢复驾驶以及在何种条件下可以恢复驾驶具有重要的临床意义。需要进一步的研究来证实这些结果。
