Driving the locus coeruleus: relating pupil diameter to performance on a naturalistic highway driving task

Reid, Andrew T.; van Gerven, Marcel · 2018 · Crossref

DOI: 10.7490/f1000research.1115892.1

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Summary

This study investigates the relationship between locus coeruleus (LC) activity and decision-making in a naturalistic context by using pupil diameter as a proxy for LC firing during a 3D highway driving simulation. The research was motivated by the need to drive the LC/norepinephrine system in a robust, ecologically valid manner, as the system is hypothesized to modulate global gain and uncertainty processing. The authors aimed to determine if phasic LC firing predicts traffic decisions and if tonic firing reflects uncertainty levels. The experimental design involved 42 participants (15 male, ages 19–61) performing a custom driving simulation built on OpenDS and JMonkeyEngine APIs. The task consisted of eight rounds with fixed traffic interactions requiring time-dependent decisions, specifically overtaking events. Participants controlled the vehicle using a SNES joystick while their eye gaze and pupil diameter were recorded via an SMI Red 500 eye tracker. Simultaneously, 64-channel EEG data was collected using a BioSemi system. The simulation was displayed on a 1920x1080 monitor, and all events were logged with associated triggers for hardware synchronization. Results indicated that previous driving and gaming experience was significantly associated with task performance ($r = 0.39$), supporting the ecological validity of the continuous task. A robust pupil response was observed across all subjects during overtake events. Pupil diameter increased prior to the decision to change lanes and decreased following the moment of overtake and before returning to the right lane. Pupil diameter was generally higher during more difficult tasks. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant difference between overtake and baseline periods for all participants ($p < 0.01$). The study also noted that baseline pupil diameter changes might reflect shifts in certainty or volatility, though specific analyses for EEG oscillatory power (theta) and ERP (P300) were listed as future steps. The findings suggest that the driving paradigm successfully elicits measurable LC-related physiological responses linked to decision difficulty and uncertainty. The authors conclude that this paradigm may serve as a useful tool for investigating LC/norepinephrine dysfunction, which is implicated in age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Future research directions include testing APOE-e4 subjects and utilizing ultra-high-field (7T) sMRI/fMRI to directly image the LC. The study highlights the potential of naturalistic tasks in probing neuromodulatory systems relevant to cognitive aging and neurodegenerative disorders.

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• Empirical Findings: physiological data, behavioral performance data
• Methodological Resource: tool software