Risk-taking behaviors and prefrontal cortex activity of male adolescents in the presence of peer passengers during simulated driving : a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study.

Pradhan, Anuj K.; Buckley, Lisa; Hu, Xiao-Su (Frank) · 2015 · ROSA P / Center for Advancing Transportation Leadership and Safety (ATLAS Center)

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Summary

This study investigates the neural mechanisms underlying increased crash risk among male adolescent drivers when accompanied by peer passengers. While crash statistics and prior observational studies indicate that teenage drivers, particularly males, exhibit riskier behaviors in the presence of peers, the specific cognitive and neural processes driving this phenomenon remain poorly understood. Previous neuroimaging research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been limited by the need for participants to remain supine and still, reducing ecological validity. To address this gap, the researchers employed functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a noninvasive optical imaging technique that allows for brain activity measurement during ecologically valid tasks, combined with a driving simulator to examine prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation during simulated driving. The experimental design utilized a 2x2 mixed-factorial approach, comparing 13 male teenagers (ages 16–18) and 16 young male adults (ages 25–35) across two conditions: driving alone and driving with a male peer passenger. Participants performed simulated driving tasks that included "dilemma zone" scenarios at signalized intersections, requiring rapid decisions to stop or proceed through yellow lights. Brain activity in the ventrolateral, dorsolateral, and orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex was monitored using a TechEn CW6 fNIRS system synchronized with the simulator via trigger signals. Additionally, participants completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) to assess general risk-taking tendencies. The peer passengers were trained confederates instructed to maintain a passive presence without direct interaction, ensuring experimental control while simulating peer influence. The results revealed distinct differences in neural activation between age groups. Adult participants demonstrated increased activation in the left and right medial prefrontal cortex when driving with a passenger compared to driving alone. In contrast, teenage drivers did not exhibit these specific activations in similar situations. This finding suggests that the developing adolescent brain may lack the neural engagement in prefrontal regions associated with cognitive control and response inhibition that adults utilize when navigating social contexts during driving. The study confirms that while peer presence is a known risk factor for teens, the underlying neural response differs significantly from that of adults, who appear to engage additional cognitive resources in the presence of passengers. The significance of this research lies in its demonstration of the feasibility of using fNIRS to study brain activity during realistic driving simulations, offering a methodological advance over fMRI for transportation safety research. By identifying that teenagers do not activate medial prefrontal regions in the same manner as adults when driving with peers, the study provides insight into potential deficits in cognitive control or impulse regulation in the adolescent brain. These findings support the development of targeted training interventions aimed at improving risk assessment and decision-making skills in novice drivers. Furthermore, the study provides critical pilot data to support larger-scale investigations into the neural basis of peer influence on driving behavior, potentially informing strategies to reduce the high rate of motor-vehicle crashes among teenage drivers.

Key finding

Adult drivers showed increased activation in the left and right medial prefrontal cortex when driving with a passenger compared to driving alone, whereas these activations were not evident in teenage drivers in similar situations.

Methodology

simulator

Sample size: 29

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• passenger effects

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: physiological data
• Theoretical Contribution: computational model