Dr. Nasrin Shahedifar 

Every year, more than 60 million people suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI). Doctor’s visits and physical exams do not always reveal problems with driving, a multitasking skill, when patients ask about getting back behind the wheel. Driving requires ongoing, simultaneous brain abilities such as concentrating, judging, and coordinating eyes and hands. Deficits in any of these task areas are not readily visible. The on-road driving assessment is controversial as it is based on personal observations in a limited environment for a brief time, and it puts drivers and examiners at serious risk. Therefore, I assess TBI survivors and study their driving behaviors in different timespans over a year, using a driving simulator for specific neuropsychological tasks which allow for an immersive experience without real-life road risks. This allows us to measure many concerns such as divided attention, reaction time, and collision-avoidance behaviors. Subjects respond to unexpected events like pedestrians crossing, the sudden exit from a parked car, and sudden braking by a lead car. This project will help physicians accurately assess their patients’ driving skills and identify potential driving problems before they arise. Finally, I will compare survivors’ collision risk and risk behavior to those of drivers without TBI.