The neural substrates of driving at a safe distance: a functional MRI study.
An important driving skill is the ability to maintain a safe distance from a preceding car. To determine the neural substrates of this skill we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging of simulated driving in 21 subjects. Subjects used a joystick to adjust their own driving speed in order to maintain a constant distance from a preceding car traveling at varying speeds. The task activated multiple brain regions. Activation of the cerebellum may reflect visual feedback during smooth tracking of the preceding car. Co-activation of the basal ganglia, thalamus and premotor cortex is related to movement selection. Activation of a premotor-parietal network is related to visuo-motor co-ordination. Task performance was negatively correlated with anterior cingulate activity, consistent with the role of this region in error detection and response selection.
Uchiyama
Yuji
Y
Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc., Nagakute 480-1192, Japan.
Ebe
Kazutoshi
K
Kozato
Akio
A
Okada
Tomohisa
T
Sadato
Norihiro
N
D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012449:Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*