Quantitative assessment of driving performance in Parkinson's disease (PD) with and without medication or subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation

The many symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) span from narrowed attention/slowed cognition with prolonged sensory-motor latencies to the characteristic motor abnormalities of tremor, rigidity, slowness and hypometria of the patients-movements. During driving, smooth pursuit eye movements appear as dynamic fixations onto moving targets. PD patients show inaccurate static and dynamic fixations during driving with consecutive loss of targets and delay of their reactions. Using an infrared camera system (GazeTracker) that allowed completely free head-eye movements within a driving simulator the authors recorded eye-head-gaze-coordination as well as steering, indicator and accelerator/brake signals from 20 PD patients (mean age 63.6 years) and 20 normal age matched subjects. All patients were on dopaminergic medication; all were treated with an implanted STN stimulator. They had to drive for five minutes through an unknown realistic course with STN stimulation ON, and after a short pause with STN stimulation OFF. The time series data of gaze-steering-acceleration / brake driving control were analyzed and statistical data analysis was performed. The main result was the objective description of the recorded interdependent signals’ decay with repect to driving performance as a function of ON versus OFF stimulation. The recordings demonstrate the motor and cognitive improvement during a complex attention-coordination task through the ON-STN condition – in addition to the medication effect. It is concluded that Parkinsons patient’s driving capabilities must be checked very thoroughly during the course of their illness.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9783781218963
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Beitrag zu den Posterfuehrungen.
• Authors:
  • Zangemeister, W H
  • Maintz, L
  • Wriedt, T
  • Buhmann, C
• Publication Date: 2013-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: pp 134-6
• Monograph Title: Fahrunsicherheit, Unfallvermeidung, Unfallrekonstruktion, Rehabilitation Fahreignung. 8. Gemeinsames Symposium der Deutschen Gesellschaft fuer Verkehrspsychologie e.V. (DGVP) und Deutschen Gesellschaft fuer Verkehrsmedizin e.V. (DGVM) am 7. und 8. September 2012 in Potsdam
• Serial:
  • Schriftenreihe Fahreignung
  • Publisher: Kirschbaum Verlag

Subject/Index Terms

• ITRD Terms: 2030: Brain; 8525: Conference; 1855: Driving (veh); 2226: Driving aptitude; 9020: Evaluation (assessment); 8125: Germany; 2134: Illness; 6136: Measurement; 2137: Medication; 2020: Nervous system; 1746: Old people; 1680: Simulator (driving); 2218: Stimulation; 6255: Test
• Subject Areas: I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01541288
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen (BASt)
• ISBN: 978-3-7812-1896-3
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Oct 21 2014 8:53AM