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The Shape of a Vehicle Windshield Affects Reaction Time and Brain Activity During a Target Detection Task
- Source :
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Vol 14 (2020)
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Frontiers Media SA, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Background: Achieving clear visibility through a windshield is one of the crucial factors in manufacturing a safe and comfortable vehicle. The optic flow (OF) through the windshield has been reported to divert attention and could impair visibility. Although a growing number of behavioral and neuroimaging studies have assessed drivers' attention in various driving scenarios, there is still little evidence of a relationship between OF, windshield shape, and driver's attentional efficacy. The purpose of this research was to examine this relationship. Methods: First, we quantified the OF across the windshield in a simulated driving scenario with either of two types of the windshield (a tilted or vertical pillar) at different speeds (60 km/h or 160 km/h) and found more upward OF along the tilted pillar than along the vertical pillar. Therefore, we hypothesized that the predominance of upward OF around the windshield along a tilted pillar could distract a driver and that we could observe the corresponding neural activity. Magnetic resonance scans were then obtained while the subjects performed a visual detection task while watching the driving scene used in the OF analysis. The subjects were required to press a button as rapidly as possible when a target appeared at one of five positions (leftmost, left, center, right, and rightmost). Results: We found that the reaction time (RT) on exposure to a tilted pillar was longer than that on exposure to a vertical pillar in the leftmost and rightmost conditions. Furthermore, there was more brain activity in the precuneus when the pillar was tilted than when it was vertical in the rightmost condition near the pillar. In a separate analysis, activation in the precuneus was found to reflect relative changes in the amount of upward OF when the target was at the rightmost position. Conclusions: Overall, these observations suggest that activation in the precuneus may reflect extraneous cognitive load driven by upward OF along the pillar and could distract visual attention. The findings of this study highlight the value of a cognitive neuroscientific approach to research and development in the motor vehicle manufacturing industry.
- Subjects :
- Computer science
Brain activity and meditation
Precuneus
Poison control
050105 experimental psychology
Task (project management)
lcsh:RC321-571
03 medical and health sciences
Neural activity
Behavioral Neuroscience
0302 clinical medicine
precuneus
Windshield
medicine
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Computer vision
Visibility
lcsh:Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Biological Psychiatry
Original Research
business.industry
05 social sciences
Human Neuroscience
visibility
attention
Psychiatry and Mental health
medicine.anatomical_structure
Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Neurology
optic flow
Artificial intelligence
business
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Cognitive load
vehicle design
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16625161
- Volume :
- 14
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d596ebd951085b491202bc7a30ee76df
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00183