Electroencephalography during on-the-road driving in older untreated insomnia patients and normal sleepers

J. Perrier*, T.R.M. Leufkens, J. Bulla, S. Jongen, M.L. Bocca, J.G. Ramaekers, A. Vermeeren

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Insomniacs report decreased performance in daily routines, which may have detrimental consequences for car driving. We compared changes over time in driving performance (measured as Standard Deviation of Lateral Position - SDLP) and background EEG between 20 untreated insomnia patients (52-70 years old) and 21 normal sleepers (54-73 years old) during a 1h on-the-road driving test after a normal night of sleep, in the morning. SDLP did not differ between groups and increased slightly over time to similar degrees in both groups. EEG alpha and beta power were lower in insomniacs as compared to normal sleepers. Alpha and beta power slightly reduced during driving in normal sleepers but remained at a constant low level in insomniacs. Changes in EEG power and SDLP were not related. It is concluded that on-the-road driving performance does not differ between older insomniacs and older normal sleepers and that changes in spectral EEG measures of cortical arousal and in driving performance are not related.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)20-28
JournalBiological Psychology
Volume109
Early online date13 Apr 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Apr 2015

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