Event-related potentials as indices of mental workload while using an in-vehicle information system

Abstract

New in-vehicle information systems are now being commercialized. Despite the expected benefits, some concerns exist that they may overload drivers' capacity and decrease performance. According to the multiple resource theory (Wickens, Hum Factors 50:449-455, https ://doi.org/10.1518/00187 2008X 28839 4, 2008, overload may occur at different stages of processing, that is, perceptual-central and/or response-related stages. Therefore, different measures may be needed to detect such specific demands. We explored the sensitivity of different mental workload measurements during the performance of an auditory task alone (single task) and in combination with a tracking task that was presented without (dual task) or, with a visual display (triple task). The demands associated with the number of concurrent tasks (single, dual and triple tasks), tracking speed (low, high, adjustable) and their interaction were analyzed. To account for different processing requirements, mental workload was assessed using subjective, behavioral (performance on the auditory task) and psychophysiological measurements (event-related potentials). 17 young adults participated in the study. The results showed that most measurements discriminated between the performances of one or more tasks, as well as between low and high speeds. However, only the subjective ratings and tracking task performance further discriminated between the dual-and triple-task conditions. Finally, ERPs (N1 and P3) were the only measure detecting increases in cognitive demands associated with higher requirements on processing speed combined with the addition of the display. Our results suggest that ERPs may provide complementary information to other traditional mental workload measures. Its applications in the evaluation and design of future systems should be investigated.

P300 Measures and Drive-Related Risks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A summary of the study characteristics is listed in Table 1 . The risk factors involved in the included articles can be summarized in five categories, including distracted driving ( N = 5) [ 12 , 27 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], reduced attention ( N = 5) [ 19 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], increased difficulty in driving ( N = 2) [ 27 , 28 ], alcohol ( N = 2) [ 32 , 39 ], and negative emotion ( N = 2) [ 40 , 41 ]. Distracted driving is a major cause of traffic accidents, which is related to driving behaviors such as using a cell phone and talking to passengers while driving.…”

“…The significant effect size indicated a reduced P300 amplitude when subjects were exposed to risk factors while driving ( Figure 3 ), Hedges’ g = −0.314, p = 0.034. The reduced amplitude was interpreted as a smaller amount of attentional resources allocated to the primary driving task, especially in the situations of multiple tasks [ 12 , 27 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], reduced attention due to the influence of alcohol [ 32 , 39 ], monotonous driving [ 37 , 38 ], and mental fatigue [ 19 , 35 , 36 ]. A likely heterogeneity was identified according to I 2 , but the p -value indicated a non-significant result, Q 17 = 21.02, I 2 = 20.64%, p = 0.14.…”

“…The effect size indicated a significant delay in P300 latency in relation to the risk factors such as reduced attention [ 19 , 38 ], distracted driving [ 12 , 27 , 34 ], increased difficulty in the driving task [ 27 ], and negative emotion [ 40 ], Hedges’ g = 0.419, p = 0.005. The prolonged latency is associated with a declined capacity in terms of information processing.…”

“…It is essential for the safety concern that drivers continuously make correct decisions and adjust their driving behaviors based on their evaluation and anticipation of situations on the road. Therefore, the ERP technique is a suitable instrument to measure the mental workload and capacity for efficient information processing while driving [ 12 ]. In addition, ERPs are time-locked to the onset of a stimulus.…”

An ERP Study to Investigate Age-Related Differences in Sensory Gating and Auditory Processing

“…Oddball and auditory click paradigms have been previously used to assess changes in mental workload, with longer latencies and decreased amplitudes for the N100 and P200/P300 ERPs during high workload tasks (Miller, Rietschel, McDonald, & Hatfield, 2011;Solis-Marcos & Kircher, 2019). However, amplitude and latency changes do not always scale linearly across ERPs, with some ERPs being more or less affected during low compared to high workloads (Solis-Marcos & Kircher, 2019).…”