GRAHAM LAB

GRAHAM LAB

Virtual Reality (VR) and Driving Performance

Dr. Graham is interested in the development of specialized fMRI procedures that enable improved assessment of \"ecologically valid\" (real-world) behaviour, moving beyond reductionist approaches that rely on simple sensory stimuli and button-press responses. Our laboratory was among the first to combine virtual reality (VR) technology with fMRI to create more realistic brain activity maps.
Screenshot 2022-10-03 151107
A view from the \"virtual driver seat\" created using STISIM software with our fMRI-compatible driving simulator apparatus from Kan et al., Medical Physics (2012).

VR Driving Simulator

One of our latest innovations is an fMRI-compatible virtual reality driving simulator, developed in collaboration with Dr. Tom Schweizer at St. Michael’s Hospital. This project aims to investigate how driving task complexity and distraction affect behavior and brain activity.

Key Applications

  • Traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke patients.
  • Developing new metrics for assessing fitness-to-drive for physicians.
  • Creating rehabilitation techniques that support recovery of cognitive and physical driving abilities.

Recent Publications

Neuroanatomical correlates of distracted straight driving performance: a driving simulator MRI study across the lifespan
Guan, D. X., Churchill, N. W., Fischer, C. E., Graham, S. J., & Schweizer, T. A. (2024).

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 16, 1369179. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2024.1369179 ‌

Driving With Distraction: Measuring Brain Activity and Oculomotor Behavior Using fMRI and Eye-Tracking
Yuen, N. H., Tam, F., Churchill, N. W., Schweizer, T. A., & Graham, S. J. (2021).

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 15, 659040. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.659040‌. PMID: 34483861

Altered Functional Brain Connectivity in Mild Cognitive Impairment during a Cognitively Complex Car Following Task
Hird, M. A., Churchill, N. W., Fischer, C. E., Naglie, G., Graham, S. J., & Schweizer, T. A. (2018).

Geriatrics, 3(2), 20–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics3020020 ‌

Investigating Simulated Driving Errors in Amnestic Single- and Multiple-Domain Mild Cognitive Impairment
Hird, M. A., Vesely, K. A., Fischer, C. E., Graham, S. J., Naglie, G., & Schweizer, T. A. (2017).

Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 56(2), 447–452. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-160995. PMID: 27983557 ‌

Using fMRI virtual-reality technology to predict driving ability after brain damage: a preliminary report
Hung, Y., Vetivelu, A., Hird, M. A., Yan, M., Tam, F., Graham, S. J., Cusimano, M., & Schweizer, T. A. (2014).

Neuroscience Letters, 558, 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2013.10.065 ‌