This Is Your Brain on Autopilot: Neural Indices of Driver Workload and Engagement During Partial Vehicle Automation.

OBJECTIVE: This research explores the effect of partial vehicle automation on neural indices of mental workload and visual engagement during on-road driving. BACKGROUND: There is concern that the introduction of automated technology in vehicles may lead to low driver stimulation and subsequent disengagement from the driving environment. Simulator-based studies have examined the effect of automation on a driver's cognitive state, but it is unknown how the conclusions translate to on-road driving. Electroencephalographic (EEG) measures of frontal theta and parietal alpha can provide insight into a driver's mental workload and visual engagement while driving under various conditions. METHOD: EEG was recorded from 71 participants while driving on the roadway. We examined two age cohorts, on two different highway configurations, in four different vehicles, with partial vehicle automation both engaged and disengaged. RESULTS: Analysis of frontal theta and parietal alpha power revealed that there was no change in mental workload or visual engagement when driving manually compared with driving under partial vehicle automation. CONCLUSION: Drivers new to the technology remained engaged with the driving environment when operating under partial vehicle automation. These findings suggest that the concern surrounding driver disengagement under vehicle automation may need to be tempered, at least for drivers new to the experience. APPLICATION: These findings expand our understanding of the effects of partial vehicle automation on drivers' cognitive states.

No Difference in Arousal or Cognitive Demands Between Manual and Partially Automated Driving: A Multi-Method On-Road Study.

INTRODUCTION: Partial driving automation is not always reliable and requires that drivers maintain readiness to take over control and manually operate the vehicle. Little is known about differences in drivers' arousal and cognitive demands under partial automation and how it may make it difficult for drivers to transition from automated to manual modes. This research examined whether there are differences in drivers' arousal and cognitive demands during manual versus partial automation driving. METHOD: We compared arousal (using heart rate) and cognitive demands (using the root mean square of successive differences in normal heartbeats; RMSSD, and Detection Response Task; DRT) while 39 younger (M = 28.82 years) and 32 late-middle-aged (M = 52.72 years) participants drove four partially automated vehicles (Cadillac, Nissan Rogue, Tesla, and Volvo) on interstate highways. If compared to manual driving, drivers' arousal and cognitive demands were different under partial automation, then corresponding differences in heart rate, RMSSD, and DRT would be expected. Alternatively, if drivers' arousal and cognitive demands were similar in manual and partially automated driving, no difference in the two driving modes would be expected. RESULTS: Results suggest no significant differences in heart rate, RMSSD, or DRT reaction time performance between manual and partially automated modes of driving for either younger or late-middle-aged adults across the four test vehicles. A Bayes Factor analysis suggested that heart rate, RMSSD, and DRT data showed extreme evidence in favor of the null hypothesis. CONCLUSION: This novel study conducted on real roads with a representative sample provides important evidence of no difference in arousal and cognitive demands. Younger and late-middle-aged motorists who are new to partial automation are able to maintain arousal and cognitive demands comparable to manual driving while using the partially automated technology. Drivers who are more experienced with partially automated technology may respond differently than those with limited prior experience.

Age-Related Differences in the Cognitive, Visual, and Temporal Demands of In-Vehicle Information Systems.

In-vehicle information systems (IVIS) refer to a collection of features in vehicles that allow motorists to complete tasks (often unrelated to driving) while operating the vehicle. These systems may interfere, to a greater extent, with older drivers' ability to attend to the visual and cognitive demands of the driving environment. The current study sought to examine age-related differences in the visual, cognitive and temporal demands associated with IVIS interactions. Older and younger drivers completed a set of common tasks using the IVIS of a representative sample of six different vehicles while they drove along a low-density residential street. Evaluation measures included a Detection Response Task (DRT), to assess both cognitive and visual attention, and subjective measures following each condition using the NASA Task Load Index (TLX). Two age cohorts were evaluated: younger drivers between 21 and 36 years of age, and older drivers between 55 and 75 years of age. Participants completed experimental tasks involving interactions with the IVIS to achieve a specific goal (i.e., using the touch screen to tune the radio to a station; using voice commands to find a specified navigation destination, etc.). Performance of tasks varied according to different modes of interaction available in the vehicles. Older drivers took longer to complete tasks, were slower to react to stimuli, and reported higher task demand when interacting with IVIS. Older drivers stand to benefit the most from advancements in-vehicle technology, but ironically may struggle the most to use them. The results document significant age-related costs in the potential for distraction from IVIS interactions on the road.

[The patients' perception about their illness: a pilot study]. / Percepções do paciente a respeito de sua doença: estudo piloto.

This preliminary study aims at inquiring the patients' perceptions about their own illness process. Therefore, 19 clinical inpatients from the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre interviewed. After a qualitative data analysis, it was observed that in a medical consultation there are, at least, two perspectives concerning the illness process. First, the physician's perspective, taking into account systems and organs structural and/or functional abnormalities (disease), and second, the patient's perspective, based on her or his perception of events that occur when getting sick (illness). In addition, the patient's perspective generally presents a preoccupation with the etiology of the disease. Keeping in mind these different viewpoints, it is crucial to establish the medical-patient dialog, aiming at reaching a better relationship between the patient and her/his physician.

Reduced locomotor activity of rats made histidinemic by injection of histidine.

Acute histidinemia was provoked in 30-d-old male Wistar rats by injecting intraperitoneally either histidine alone (0.5 mg/g body wt) or histidine (0.25 mg/g body wt) plus the histidase inhibitor nitromethane (0.73 mg/g body wt). Histidase activity was approximately 90% inhibited in rats receiving nitromethane. Serum histidine in both groups reached levels similar to those of histidinemic patients. Rats were subjected to the open field behavioral task, and the number of rearings and crossings were counted. A consistently lower locomotor activity was observed in the histidinemic rats. It is proposed that reduced locomotor activity and its relationship to psychomotor development should be investigated in histidinemic children.

A simple simulated public speaking test for evaluating anxiolytic drugs.

1. We evaluated the feasibility of using a simulated public speaking (SPS) test to assess the activity of anxiolytic drugs. SPS was achieved by requesting subjects to present a speech to an audiocassette recorder. Thirty volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three groups treated with 10 mg diazepam, 10 mg buspirone or placebo, under double-blind conditions. One h after drug administration, subjective states were measured by the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and by a Bodily Symptoms Scale (BSS). Heart rate and blood pressure were also recorded. 2. SPS induced both physiological and subjective changes characteristic of anxiety. Moreover, diazepam attenuated experimentally induced increases in excitement (as measured by VAMS) and agitation (as measured by BSS). Therefore, SPS using an audiocassette recorder is sensitive to a prototypical anxiolytic and may thus be a useful test for evaluating putative anxiolytics. 3. No effect was observed with the new anxiolytic drug buspirone. However, the present negative result may be explained by clinical data indicating that patients may experience a longer lag period before the onset of the anxiolytic effect of buspirone.

A simple simulated public speaking test for evaluating anxiolytic drugs

We evaluated the feasibility of using a simulated public (SPS) test to assess the activity of anxiolytic drugs. SPS was achieved by requesting subjects to present a speech to an audiocassette recorder. Thirty volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three groups treated with 10 mg diazepam, 10 mg buspirone or placebo, under double-blind conditions. One h after drug adminsitration, subjective states were measured by the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and by a Bodily Symptoms Scale (BSS). Heart rate and blood pressure were also recorded. SPS induced both physiological and subjective changes characteristic of anxiety. Moreover, diazepam attenuated experimentally induced increases in excitement (as measured by VAMS) and agitation (as measured by BSS). Therefore, SPS using an audiocassette recorder is sensitive to a prototypical anxiolytic and may thus be a useful test for evaluating putative anxiolytics. No effect was observed with the new anxiolytic drug buspirone. However, the present negative result may be explained by clinical data indicating that patients may experience a longer lag period before the onset of the anxiolytic effect of buspirone