Functional split brain in a driving/listening paradigm

People often engage in two concurrent but unrelated activities, such as driving on a quiet road while listening to the radio. When they do so, does their brain split into functionally distinct entities? To address this question, the authors imaged brain activity with fMRI in experienced drivers engaged in a driving simulator while listening either to global positioning system instructions (integrated task) or to a radio show (split task). The authors found that, compared with the integrated task, the split task was characterized by reduced multivariate functional connectivity between the driving and listening networks. Furthermore, the integrated information content of the two networks, predicting their joint dynamics above and beyond their independent dynamics, was high in the integrated task and zero in the split task. Finally, individual subjects’ ability to switch between high and low information integration predicted their driving performance across integrated and split tasks. This study raises the possibility that under certain conditions of daily life, a single brain may support two independent functional streams, a “functional split brain” similar to what is observed in patients with an anatomical split.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613200113
• Record URL:
  http://www.pnas.org/content/113/50/14444.abstract
• Authors:
  • Sasai, Shuntaro
  • Boly, Melanie
  • Mensen, Armand
  • Tononi, Giulio
• Publication Date: 2016-12-13

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 14444-14449
• Serial:
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Volume: 113
  • Issue Number: 50
  • Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
  • EISSN: 1091-6490
  • Serial URL: http://www.pnas.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Auditory perception; Brain; Driving; Driving simulators; Multitasking
• Uncontrolled Terms: Consciousness; Divided attention; Information integration; Listening
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01630547
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 28 2017 11:38AM