A neuroscientific evaluation of driver rehabilitation: Functional neuroimaging demonstrates the effectiveness of empathy induction in altering brain responses during social information processing

PLoS One. 2020 Apr 29;15(4):e0232222. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232222. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

An alarming number of traffic-related deaths occur each year on European roads alone. Figures reveal that the vast majority of road-traffic accidents are caused by drivers themselves, and so further improvements in road safety require developments in driver training and rehabilitation. This study evaluated a novel approach to driver rehabilitation-specifically, empathy induction as a means of changing attitudes towards risky driving. To assess the effectiveness of this method, the present study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain function before and after a short program of empathy induction in 27 drivers whose licenses had been revoked after serious traffic offences (rehabilitated drivers [RDs]). In an extension of our previous research, we first assessed whether neural responses to empathy-eliciting social stimuli changed in these RDs. In order to isolate the neurophysiological effects of empathy induction from any other potential influences, we compared these RDs to a sample of 27 age-, handedness- and driving experience-matched control drivers (CDs) who had no exposure to the program. We then performed dual-fMRI "hyperscanning" to evaluate whether empathy induction changed brain responses during real-world social interactions among drivers; namely, during co-operative and/or competitive exchanges. Our data reveal that RDs exhibited weaker brain responses to socio-emotional stimuli compared with CDs prior to the program, but this difference was reversed after empathy induction. Moreover, we observed differences between pre- and post-program assessments in patterns of brain responses in RDs elicited during competitive social exchanges, which we interpret to reflect a change in their proclivity to react to the perceived wrong-doing of other road users. Together, these findings suggest that empathy induction is an effective form of driver rehabilitation, and the utility of neuroscientific techniques for evaluating and improving rehabilitation programs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Traffic / prevention & control*
  • Accidents, Traffic / psychology*
  • Adult
  • Automobile Driving / psychology*
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain / physiology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Competitive Behavior
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Czech Republic
  • Empathy*
  • Functional Neuroimaging
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Models, Psychological
  • Safety
  • Social Behavior
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported financially by the Czech Science Foundation (project no. GA16-18261S) to DJS; the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Czechia under Project CEITEC 2020 (LQ1601), and the National Sustainability Programme I, the Transport R&D Centre Project (LO1610), on a research infrastructure acquired from the Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovations (CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0064). We also acknowledge the core facility MAFIL/CELLIM of CEITEC supported by the Czech-BioImaging large RI project (LM2018129 funded by MEYS CR) for their support with obtaining scientific data presented in this paper. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.