The neural correlates of driving

We studied 12 healthy subjects with fMRI while they performed a driving sim ulation task. In the active condition they steered the car themselves (driv ing), in the passive condition a person from outside the scanner was steeri ng the car (passive driving). Common activations in both conditions were fo und in occipital and parietal regions bilaterally. Activity specifically as sociated with driving was found only in the sensorimotor cortex and the cer ebellum. Compared to passive driving, activity during driving was reduced i n numerous brain regions including MT/MST. It is concluded that simulated d riving requires mainly perceptual-motor integration and that the limited co gnitive capacity model of driving has to be revised. NeuroReport 12:1763-17 67 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.