Magnetoencephalogram recording during simulated driving: Towards an ecologically-valid paradigm
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1
University of Pennsylvania, United States
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2
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, United States
Driving is a uniquely complex skill that requires integrated functioning across visual, motor and cognitive systems. Each of these systems develop at different stages of brain maturation across adolescence, and with different developmental trajectories for atypically developing teens, such as those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Dennis & Thompson, 2013). Indeed, studies of crash risk and driving in teens with ASD suggest significant skill deficits related to motor coordination, speed regulation, lane maintenance, signaling and adjustment to unexpected events (Classen et al., 2013). However, we know very little about the neural substrates and the biological mechanisms underlying the complex skill of driving, and the skill deficits evident in ASD. We need to use sensitive measures of the brain mechanisms that enable safe driving, and evaluate the integration of these processes, as well as the sub-components, in order to develop interventions for improving driving safety. We hypothesize that impaired motor function, visual-motor integration and higher-level executive function deficits common in ASD contribute to impaired driving performance in this population. We probe this hypothesis using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recording of cortical oscillatory activity in frontal, visual and, especially, motor brain areas while adolescent participants complete an ecologically valid simulated driving experience of graduated complexity. Using simulated driving technology allows us to strategically isolate and manipulate the well-characterized components of driving performance (accelerating/braking and steering), while manipulating the scene to build complexity and increasingly tax integrated brain functioning and capacity. In addition, with the use of a MEG-compatible fiber-optic steering wheel and gas/brake pedals, we can simultaneously measure MEG-recorded neural oscillatory responses and behavioral metrics of simulated driving performance (see Figure 1). For this pilot study, we recruited adolescents with ASD and typically developing (TD) adolescents between the ages of 15-18 years. Participants completed a number of simulated driving tasks eliciting motor and visual responses using ecologically valid stimuli (i.e., braking or steering in response to cues such as traffic lights), as well as on-going visuo-motor integration, to evaluate whether the integration of specific neural responses predict poor driving performance. Volumetric MRI (conducted with a 3T Siemens Prisma™ MR scanner) was used both for MEG source localization, and grey and white matter ROI voxel segmentation and quantification. We recorded neuromagnetic data continuously during the simulated driving tasks using a whole cortex 275-channel MEG system (CTF International), sampling at 1200Hz per channel with 3rd order gradiometer environmental noise reduction. Online head motion detection (obtained via active fiducials) was used to detect gross subject motion. Where gross motion exceeded nominal thresholds (10mm), data acquisition was stopped and recording was restarted. Following previously published methods from our group, primary visual (VI) alpha-band and motor (MI) beta-band responses were localized using differential beamformer methods at stimulus-onset and motor-response epochs (Gaetz et al., 2010). For example, differential beamformer spatial filter methods were used to localize movement-associated areas of functional motor cortex by contrasting desynchronizing oscillations in response to an “active” movement of steering or braking (known as event-related desynchronization), to a pre-stimulus baseline resting rhythm (typically between 15-30Hz for resting beta-band). In addition, motor-related right inferior frontal gyrus (R-IFG) gamma-band activity was also investigated as our group previously found that R-IFG gamma-band power can index task difficulty (or cognitive demand) in the form of delayed motor responses on a multi-source interference task (Gaetz et al., 2013). Time-frequency plots from the individually-determined VI, MI and R-IFG peak locations were analyzed for frequency, power, latency and duration. Thus far, we have successfully piloted these driving simulator software and hardware in the metal/magnetically-sensitive MEG setting, without significant artifact. This presentation will detail our methodological approach and preliminary findings which reveal localized activity for expected brain regions of visual and motor cortex activity in response to task demands, as well as activity originating in the R-IFG likely associated with driving-related executive functioning. Preliminary data on the neural correlates of start/stop and turning driving tasks will also be presented. This combined MEG and simulated driving methodological approach allows us to not only investigate integrated brain function in ASD using a more ecologically-relevant complex task, but also allows us to address the critical gap in our understanding of the neural correlates associated with poor driving.
References
Classen, S., Monahan, M., Wang, Y. (2013) Driving characteristics of teens with attention deficit hyperactivity and autism spectrum disorder. Am J Occup Ther, 67(6): 664-673.
Dennis, E.L., Thompson, P.M. (2013). Typical and atypical brain development: a review of neuroimaging studies. Dialogues Clin Neurosci., 15(3): 359–384.
Gaetz, W., Macdonald, M., Cheyne, D., Snead, OC. (2010). Neuromagnetic imaging of movement-related cortical oscillations in children and adults: age predicts post-movement beta rebound. NeuroImage, 51:792–807.
Gaetz, W., Liu, C., Zhu, H., Bloy, L., & Roberts, T. P. L. (2013). Evidence for a motor gamma-band network governing response interference. NeuroImage, 74, 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.02.013. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.02.013
Keywords:
driving,
driving simulation,
Magnetoencephalography (MEG),
cortical oscillations,
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Conference:
2nd International Neuroergonomics Conference, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 27 Jun - 29 Jun, 2018.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Neuroergonomics
Citation:
Walshe
EA,
Gaetz
WC,
Romer
D,
Roberts
T and
Winston
FK
(2019). Magnetoencephalogram recording during simulated driving: Towards an ecologically-valid paradigm.
Conference Abstract:
2nd International Neuroergonomics Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2018.227.00070
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Received:
02 Apr 2018;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Elizabeth A Walshe, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States, elizabeth.a.walshe@gmail.com