Shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

Abstract Optimal mental workload plays a key role in driving performance. Thus, driver-assisting systems that automatically adapt to a drivers current mental workload via brain–computer interfacing might greatly contribute to traffic safety. To design economic brain computer interfaces that do not c...

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Autores principales:	Christoph F. Geissler, Jörn Schneider, Christian Frings
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/7d274fe8937249b09c9e2a19a711e647
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:7d274fe8937249b09c9e2a19a711e647
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:7d274fe8937249b09c9e2a19a711e6472021-12-02T14:01:37ZShedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study10.1038/s41598-020-80477-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/7d274fe8937249b09c9e2a19a711e6472021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80477-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Optimal mental workload plays a key role in driving performance. Thus, driver-assisting systems that automatically adapt to a drivers current mental workload via brain–computer interfacing might greatly contribute to traffic safety. To design economic brain computer interfaces that do not compromise driver comfort, it is necessary to identify brain areas that are most sensitive to mental workload changes. In this study, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy and subjective ratings to measure mental workload in two virtual driving environments with distinct demands. We found that demanding city environments induced both higher subjective workload ratings as well as higher bilateral middle frontal gyrus activation than less demanding country environments. A further analysis with higher spatial resolution revealed a center of activation in the right anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The area is highly involved in spatial working memory processing. Thus, a main component of drivers’ mental workload in complex surroundings might stem from the fact that large amounts of spatial information about the course of the road as well as other road users has to constantly be upheld, processed and updated. We propose that the right middle frontal gyrus might be a suitable region for the application of powerful small-area brain computer interfaces.Christoph F. GeisslerJörn SchneiderChristian FringsNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Christoph F. Geissler Jörn Schneider Christian Frings Shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
description	Abstract Optimal mental workload plays a key role in driving performance. Thus, driver-assisting systems that automatically adapt to a drivers current mental workload via brain–computer interfacing might greatly contribute to traffic safety. To design economic brain computer interfaces that do not compromise driver comfort, it is necessary to identify brain areas that are most sensitive to mental workload changes. In this study, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy and subjective ratings to measure mental workload in two virtual driving environments with distinct demands. We found that demanding city environments induced both higher subjective workload ratings as well as higher bilateral middle frontal gyrus activation than less demanding country environments. A further analysis with higher spatial resolution revealed a center of activation in the right anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The area is highly involved in spatial working memory processing. Thus, a main component of drivers’ mental workload in complex surroundings might stem from the fact that large amounts of spatial information about the course of the road as well as other road users has to constantly be upheld, processed and updated. We propose that the right middle frontal gyrus might be a suitable region for the application of powerful small-area brain computer interfaces.
format	article
author	Christoph F. Geissler Jörn Schneider Christian Frings
author_facet	Christoph F. Geissler Jörn Schneider Christian Frings
author_sort	Christoph F. Geissler
title	Shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
title_short	Shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
title_full	Shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
title_fullStr	Shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
title_full_unstemmed	Shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
title_sort	shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/7d274fe8937249b09c9e2a19a711e647
work_keys_str_mv	AT christophfgeissler sheddinglightontheprefrontalcorrelatesofmentalworkloadinsimulateddrivingafunctionalnearinfraredspectroscopystudy AT jornschneider sheddinglightontheprefrontalcorrelatesofmentalworkloadinsimulateddrivingafunctionalnearinfraredspectroscopystudy AT christianfrings sheddinglightontheprefrontalcorrelatesofmentalworkloadinsimulateddrivingafunctionalnearinfraredspectroscopystudy
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Shedding light on the prefrontal correlates of mental workload in simulated driving: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

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