The developed world faces major socioeconomic and medical challenges associated with motor vehicle accidents caused by risky driving. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of individuals using virtual reality driving simulators may provide an important research tool to assess driving safety, based on brain activity and behavior.Methods: A fMRI-compatible driving simulator was developed and evaluated in the context of straight driving, turning, and stopping in 16 young healthy adults.Results: Robust maps of brain activity were obtained, including activation of the primary motor cortex, cerebellum, visual cortex, and parietal lobe, with limited head motion (<1.5 mm deviation from mean head position in the superior?inferior direction in all subjects) and only minor correlations between head motion, steering, or braking behavior.Conclusions: These results are consistent with previous literature and suggest that with care, fMRI of simulated driving is a feasible undertaking. (Author/publisher)
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