Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

6-2010

Subject Area

Modes of Transport - Car - Driver, Mobility - Mobility impaired, Population - Older driver

Abstract

Rigidity, tremor and akinesis are common signs and symptoms in Parkinson Disease. Cognitive deficits such as impairments in attention, memory, information processing and executive functioning can also be found in some PD patients. In response to ever-changing traffic scenarios, being able to filter stimuli from multiple sources is one of the most important cognitive ability to prioritize information and make decisions to prevent adverse traffic events. Cognitive overload, which can result in severe driving errors, is a form of brain inefficiency when excessive demands from interruptions and multi-tasking are made on a person's mental processes. The aim of this study is to investigate how cognitive overloading affects the driving performance of PD drivers. Prior to the driving assessment, all participants were screened for confounding medical and psychiatric conditions. Psychometric assessments had also been used to assess the participants’ physical and cognitive abilities. Seven idiopathic PD participants and 15 matched controls were assessed using a driving simulator. Results: The performance of the participants was converted to an indexed driving score. The PD drivers scored less than the control during the simulated driving assessment. When both groups are under excessive demand, the PD participants performed less competently than the control. Conclusion: Results further support the hypothesis that cognitive overloading whist driving significantly compromises the PD drivers’ performance even in the mild to moderate stages of the disease.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by TRANSED 2010, copyright remains with them.