Cerebral activation and lateralization due to the cognition of a various driving speed difference: An fMRI study
Issue title: Frontiers in Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology – Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, 11–13 October 2013, Wuhan, China
Affiliations: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical & Health Science, Konkuk University, Chungju, South Korea | Department of Information & Communication Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea | Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Boeb-Yi Lee, Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Room #411 Biomedical Science Building, 1 Hwayang-dong, Kwangjin-gu, Seoul, 143-701, South Korea; Tel: 82-2-2030-7814; Fax: 82-2-2049-6192; E-mail: beobyi.lee@kku.ac.kr
Abstract: This study investigated the changes of cerebral activation and lateralization due to the cognition of three driving speeds in comparison to a reference driving speed using functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI. A driving video as a visual stimulation source was recorded with four different driving speeds in a real driving situation. The experiment consisted of three blocks and each block included a one-minute control phase and a one-minute stimulation phase. The activation area and the lateralization index were analyzed by subtracting high speed data from low speed data. Such areas as occipital, parietal and frontal lobes, which is related to visual cognition, high order visual and spatial attention (or vigilance), were activated due to the cognition of various driving speed differences. As the driving speed difference increased, the activation area increased in the areas related to spatial attention (or vigilance), such as the frontal lobe, however, changes of neuronal activation in the occipital and parietal lobes were inconsistent. As the driving speed difference increased, the absolute value of cerebral lateralization decreased. These results may provide some basic data for elucidating the brain-function mechanism related to the cognition of a various driving speed difference based on a realistic visual stimulation.
