EEG Correlates of Driving Performance

Thomas G. Simpson, Karen Rafferty

Abstract: Techniques for monitoring human performance traditionally rely on subjective responses and task-specific scoring, yet research suggests EEG could offer multiple performance metrics with high temporal resolution and accuracy that could be leveraged for human–computer interaction purposes. The objective of the presented work is to investigate which EEG responses correlate with task performance and evaluate whether combinations of these produce effective predictive models, facilitating further understanding of the psychological link to performance. A user study was conducted with 32 participants required to negotiate a driving course with the ambition of learning and improving ability on the course during an EEG recording session. EEG was filtered and post-processed to find power spectral density in alpha ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha$</tex-math></inline-formula> ), beta ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta$</tex-math></inline-formula> ), delta ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\delta$</tex-math></inline-formula> ), and theta ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta$</tex-math></inline-formula> ) frequency bands, as well as frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA). The initial laps were considered a baseline and an average performance improvement was calculated over the remaining laps in terms of percentage improvement in duration of track traversal. Results demonstrate event related desynchronization with increased task performance in the alpha ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">p</i> =. 000), delta ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">p</i> =. 000), and theta ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">p</i> =. 000) bands, as well as evidence of a relationship between overall change in FAA and task efficiency. A full electrode analysis identifies <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\delta _{{\rm F}_{4}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> as the optimal for predicting collisions, with efficiency best predicted by a combination of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta _{{\rm O}_{\rm z}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\delta _{{\rm F}_{4}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> .