Can arousing feedback rectify lapses in driving? Prediction from EEG power spectra.
OBJECTIVE
This study explores the neurophysiological changes, measured using an electroencephalogram (EEG), in response to an arousing warning signal delivered to drowsy drivers, and predicts the efficacy of the feedback based on changes in the EEG.


METHODS
Eleven healthy subjects participated in sustained-attention driving experiments. The driving task required participants to maintain their cruising position and compensate for randomly induced lane deviations using the steering wheel, while their EEG and driving performance were continuously monitored. The arousing warning signal was delivered to participants who experienced momentary behavioral lapses, failing to respond rapidly to lane-departure events (specifically the reaction time exceeded three times the alert reaction time).


RESULTS
The results of our previous studies revealed that arousing feedback immediately reversed deteriorating driving performance, which was accompanied by concurrent EEG theta- and alpha-power suppression in the bilateral occipital areas. This study further proposes a feedback efficacy assessment system to accurately estimate the efficacy of arousing warning signals delivered to drowsy participants by monitoring the changes in their EEG power spectra immediately thereafter. The classification accuracy was up 77.8% for determining the need for triggering additional warning signals.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study, in conjunction with previous studies on EEG correlates of behavioral lapses, might lead to a practical closed-loop system to predict, monitor and rectify behavioral lapses of human operators in attention-critical settings.
Brain Research Center, University System of Taiwan, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Chin-Teng
CT
Lin
Kuan-Chih
KC
Huang
Chun-Hsiang
CH
Chuang
Li-Wei
LW
Ko
Tzyy-Ping
TP
Jung
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D030141:Feedback, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult