Driving and the Brain: an Imaging Study

Driving is a complex behavior that recruits multiple cognitive elements. To attempt to delineate the underlying neuroanatomy of this cognitive complexity, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during driving simulation. We report an imaging study of simulated driving and identify several groups of regions, each modulated differently by our imaging paradigm. In order to parse out the neural networks subserving driving behavior, fMRI analysis must account for simultaneous, interrelated cognitive processes. We decomposed the activation into interpretable pieces using a novel, generally applicable approach, based upon independent component analysis. Signal in the anterior cingulate cortex, an area often associated with error monitoring and inhibition, decreased at an exponential rate during driving, whereas activations in frontoparietal regions, implicated in vigilance, decrease immediately and remain low during driving. Other activated regions, including cerebellum and occipital areas, presumably related to complex visuomotor integration, were also associated with simulated driving.