Pilot Feasibility Study Examining Pupillary Response During Driving Simulation as a Measure of Cognitive Load in Breast Cancer Survivors

Objectives To test the feasibility of adding driving simulation tasks to measure visuospatial ability and processing speed to an existing neurocognitive battery for breast cancer survivors (BCSs). Sample & setting 38 BCSs and 17 healthy controls from a cross-sectional pilot study conducted at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Methods & variables Exploratory substudy measuring pupillary response, visuospatial ability, and processing speed during two 10-minute driving simulations (with or without n-back testing) in a sample of BCSs with self-reported cognitive complaints and healthy controls. Results Feasibility of measurement of pupillary response during driving simulation was demonstrated. No between-group differences were noted for pupillary response during driving simulation. BCSs had greater visuospatial ability and processing speed performance difficulties than healthy controls during driving simulation without n-back testing and slower n-back response time. Implications for nursing Preliminary evidence showed a possible link between cancer/treatment on visuospatial ability and processing speed in BCSs.