Reducing the Effects of Driving Fatigue with Magnetic Stimulation

Introduction Drivingfatigueisaseriousproblemandbelievedtobea directorcontributingcauseofroad relatedaccidents.Fatigue isagradualandcumulativeprocessandisthoughttobe associatedwithadisinclinationforanyeffort,reduced efficiencyandalertnessandimpairedmentalperformance1] Cognitiveeffortinvolvessustainedvigilance,selective attention,andcomplexdecisionmakingandoccasionally automatizedperceptual motorcontrolskills.Performanceover time,suchasthatrequiredduringdrivingusuallyrequire greatercognitivee…

Reducing the Effects of Driving Fatigue with Magnetic Stimulation

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of reducing driving fatigue with magnitopuncture stimuli on Dazhui (DU14) point and Neiguan (PC6) points using heart rate (HR), reaction time (RT) testing, critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) and subjective evaluation. Twenty healthy subjects were randomly divided into two groups: A-group (study group) and B-group (control group). All subjects were required to be well rested before the experiment. The subjects were engaged in high speed driving at a constant vehicle velocity of 80 km/h continuously for three hours on a test course simulating an expressway. During the driving magnitopunctures were applied to the Dazhui (DU14) point and Neiguan (PC6) points for the A-group when the subject performed the task for two and half hours, and for the B-group magnitopunctures were applied to non-acupuncture points at the same time session. In this study RT exbited a significant delay in B-group (P<0.01) but no found in A-group after the driving task. CFF and subjective evaluation also exhibited significant differences between the two groups after the driving task (P<0.05). The findings showed that magnitopuncture stimuli on Dazhui (DU14) point and Neiguan (PC6) points could reduce the effects of driving fatigue.