Prolonged Driving Experience: Effects on Cognitive Reserve and Brain Activity
Poster No:
761
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Tsung-Chi Chen1, Shang-Hua Lin1, Yi-Hsuan Liu2, Ching-Po Lin3,1,4, Li-Hung Chang1,4
Institutions:
1Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, 2Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, other, 3Department of Education and Research, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, 4Center for Healthy Longevity and Aging Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Ching-Po Lin
Department of Education and Research, Taipei City Hospital|Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University|Center for Healthy Longevity and Aging Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Taipei, Taiwan|Taipei, Taiwan|Taipei, Taiwan
Department of Education and Research, Taipei City Hospital|Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University|Center for Healthy Longevity and Aging Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Taipei, Taiwan|Taipei, Taiwan|Taipei, Taiwan
Li-Hung Chang
Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University|Center for Healthy Longevity and Aging Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Taipei, Taiwan|Taipei, Taiwan
Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University|Center for Healthy Longevity and Aging Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Taipei, Taiwan|Taipei, Taiwan
Introduction:
Previous studies have demonstrated that cognitive reserve is influenced by various factors, including educational level, lifestyle, and occupational complexity (Stern, 2009). Driving work is often categorized as unskilled and manual work, which may be associated with a lower cognitive reserve. However, driving experience has also been shown to enhance cognitive functions, particularly spatial navigation ability. This study aimed to investigate the impact of occupational experience on cognitive reserve by examining the spatial navigation ability and brain activity of professional taxi drivers. By doing so, we seek to expand our understanding of how prolonged occupational engagement contributes to the framework of cognitive reserve, with a specific focus on middle-aged taxi drivers.
Methods:
We recruited two healthy groups: professional drivers (licensed Taipei taxi drivers; n = 23, age = 53.5 ± 5.0 years, M/F = 19/4, years of licensing= 12.6 ± 12.0 ) and a control group (individuals with limited or no driving experience; n = 23, age = 55.4 ± 4.0 years, M/F = 18/5). Whole-brain structural MRI data and spatial navigation fMRI tasks were obtained using a Siemens Prisma 3T scanner. The spatial navigation task utilized Maze Suite software to create a virtual environment comprising two conditions: a 30-second walking phase and a 120-second maze exploration phase. Each trial included 1 walk phase and 1 maze phase, and a total of 3 trials were conducted (Fig. 1A). In the maze condition, 8 objects were connected to the starting point via direct radial paths (Fig. 1B). Participants were instructed to freely explore the maze and locate as many objects as possible within a 120-second time limit. To evaluate performance in the spatial navigation task, two metrics were calculated: object finding and searching index. The object finding represents the total number of objects found in one trial, with higher scores indicating better performance. The searching index reflects an individual's efficiency in exploring new environments, with lower scores indicating greater efficiency. We used SPM12 to apply the general linear model to fMRI data after motion correction, slice-timing correction, coregistration, normalization, and smoothing. Between-group comparisons were made using the maze exploration condition versus the walking condition to compare drivers and controls, with age, gender, and years of education included as covariates.
·Figure 1. (A) Experimental design of the spatial navigation fMRI task: Each trial included two conditions (walk and maze), and each run consisted of three trials. (B) Overhead view of the maze (Note:
Results:
The taxi driver group did not show a significant advantage in spatial navigation tasks compared to the control group. While exploring a new environment, drivers did not locate more objects than controls (Fig. 2A), and spent more time navigating (Fig. 2B). However, fMRI analysis revealed significantly greater activation in the postcentral gyrus, precuneus, cuneus, and middle occipital gyrus in the driver group compared to the control group (Fig. 2C).
·Figure 2. (A) Maze object finding results for the driver and control groups. (B) Maze searching index results for the driver and control groups. (C) Two-sample t-test of spatial navigation task showin
Conclusions:
This study highlights that professional taxi drivers, despite their extensive driving experience, did not exhibit superior spatial navigation abilities compared to individuals with limited driving experience. The observed increased brain activation in regions associated with spatial processing, such as the postcentral gyrus, precuneus, cuneus, and middle occipital gyrus, may reflect compensatory neural mechanisms to overcome lower cognitive reserves reduced by low occupational complexity in middle-aged adults. These findings suggest that while long-term driving experience may influence brain activity patterns, it does not necessarily translate into enhanced cognitive performance in spatial navigation tasks. This research provides insights into the relationship between occupational engagement, cognitive reserve, and neural plasticity.
Higher Cognitive Functions:
Higher Cognitive Functions Other 1
Lifespan Development:
Lifespan Development Other 2
Keywords:
Experimental Design
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Plasticity
Other - Spatial Navigation
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Provide references using APA citation style.
Warren, W. H., Rothman, D. B., Schnapp, B. H., & Ericson, J. D. (2017). Wormholes in virtual space: From cognitive maps to cognitive graphs. Cognition, 166, 152-163.