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Use of a driving simulator to improve on‐road driving performance and cognition in persons with P arkinson's disease: A pilot study
Author(s) -
Devos Hannes,
Morgan John C.,
Onyeamaechi Arinze,
Bogle Craig A.,
Holton Katie,
Kruse Jonathon,
Sasser Sierra,
Akinwuntan Abiodun E.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/1440-1630.12263
Subject(s) - driving simulator , cognition , test (biology) , physical therapy , cognitive training , physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychology , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , simulation , medicine , engineering , neuroscience , biology , paleontology
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 P arkinson's disease ( PD ). Method Fifteen participants with PD , and H oehn and Y ahr 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. 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 M ontreal C ognitive A ssessment and (ii) D ot C ancellation test. 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.