Visual search and target detection during simulated driving in Parkinson’s disease

Publication date: January 2020Source: Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 134Author(s): M. Ranchet, J.C. Morgan, A.E. Akinwuntan, H. DevosAbstractPatients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) often exhibit difficulties with visual search that may impede their ability to recognize landmarks and cars while driving. The main objective of this study was to investigate visual search performances of both billboards and cars in patients with PD using a driving simulator. A second objective was to examine the role of cognitive functions in performing the visual search task while driving. Nineteen patients with PD (age: 68 ± 8yo, sex (Men/Women): 15/4) and 14 controls (age: 60 ± 11yo, sex: 7/7) first performed a battery of cognitive tests. They then drove in a simulator and were instructed to follow a lead vehicle while searching for billboards with the letter A (stationary target) or red cars (moving target) among other distractors. Accuracy and response times of visual search were the main outcome variables. Standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP) was the secondary outcome. During driving, patients were less accurate in identifying the targets, particularly for the stationary billboards located in the outer periphery. Within the group of patients, significant correlations were found between several measures of cognitive tests and simulator-based visual search accuracy. By contrast, only the score on the MOCA test correlated significantly with visual search accuracy in ...
Source: Accident Analysis and Prevention - Category: Accident Prevention Source Type: research