EEG oscillatory signatures of increased cognitive control at intersections: a virtual reality driving simulation

Introduction: Intersections are particularly complex traffic situations and are often the scene of accidents. Driver behaviour and decision-making might be affected by specific factors such as the right of way, traffic volume, and the occurrence of a critical event directly before the intersection. Methods: We developed a new driving scenario in virtual reality (VR) to test the impact of these factors using a fully immersive head-mounted display. Participants had to navigate through a series of intersections to reach their target destination. We recorded their driving behaviour as well as their brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG). Results: Our results showed that participants engaged cognitive control processes when approaching an intersection with high traffic volume and when reacting to a critical event, as indexed by driving behaviour and proactively by increased theta power. We did not find differences for right of way in the EEG data, but driving behaviour was as expected, revealing a driving speed reduction when participants had to yield to traffic. Discussion: We discuss advantages and potential challenges of an immersive VR-based approach to driving simulations and the challenges encountered when recording and analysing EEG data. We conclude that despite movement and electronic artefacts, EEG data in the theta and alpha bands can be analysed robustly and allow for novel insights into control processes in realistic VR scenarios.