@article{ref1,
title="Use of a driving simulator to improve on-road driving performance and cognition in persons with Parkinson's disease: a pilot study",
journal="Australian occupational therapy journal",
year="2016",
author="Devos, Hannes and Morgan, John C. and Onyeamaechi, Arinze and Bogle, Craig A. and Holton, Katie and Kruse, Jonathon and Sasser, Sierra and Akinwuntan, Abiodun E.",
volume="63",
number="6",
pages="408-414",
abstract="BACKGROUND/AIM: The use of simulators as an assessment and intervention tool for driving is an emerging field in occupational therapy. We investigated the potential usefulness of a driving simulator to improve on-road skills and cognitive functions in drivers with Parkinson's disease (PD). <br><br>METHOD: Fifteen participants with PD, and Hoehn and Yahr stages between 2 and 3 participated in this pre-post comparison study. Twelve of the 15 individuals (median age (Q1-Q3), 68 (63.5-72.5); 10 men) completed 10 hours of training in a high-fidelity driving simulator. A practical road test as well as off-road cognitive and simulator tests were administered at pre-training and post-training. <br><br>RESULTS: Nine participants, who passed the road test before training, passed at post-training. Furthermore, all three participants who initially failed the on-road test passed after training. Participants' performance improved significantly from pre- to post-training on two cognitive tests: (i) the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and (ii) Dot Cancellation test. <br><br>CONCLUSION: This pilot study demonstrates the potential usefulness of a simulator to improve on-road driving and driving-related cognitive skills in PD. Adequately powered randomized controlled trials are needed to further expand this field of study.<br><br>© 2016 Occupational Therapy Australia.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0045-0766",
doi="10.1111/1440-1630.12263",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12263"
}