Citation

Casutt G, Theill N, Martin M, Keller M, Jäncke L. Front. Aging Neurosci. 2014; 6: 85.

Affiliation

Division of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland ; International Normal Aging and Plasticity Research Centre Zurich Zurich, Schwitzerland ; University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging," University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland ; Department of Special Education, King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Frontiers Research Foundation)

DOI

10.3389/fnagi.2014.00085

PMID

24860497

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Age-related cognitive decline is often associated with unsafe driving behavior. We hypothesized that 10 active training sessions in a driving simulator increase cognitive and on-road driving performance. In addition, driving simulator training should outperform cognitive training.

METHODS: Ninety-one healthy active drivers (62-87 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) a driving simulator training group, (2) an attention training group (vigilance and selective attention), or (3) a control group. The main outcome variables were on-road driving and cognitive performance. Seventy-seven participants (85%) completed the training and were included in the analyses. Training gains were analyzed using a multiple regression analysis with planned orthogonal comparisons.

RESULTS: The driving simulator-training group showed an improvement in on-road driving performance compared to the attention-training group. In addition, both training groups increased cognitive performance compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION: Driving simulator training offers the potential to enhance driving skills in older drivers. Compared to the attention training, the simulator training seems to be a more powerful program for increasing older drivers' safety on the road.

Language: en