Speed-related activation in the mesolimbic dopamine system during the observation of driver-view videos

Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 15;8(1):711. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18792-y.

Abstract

Despite the ubiquity and importance of speeding offenses, there has been little neuroscience research regarding the propensity for speeding among vehicle drivers. In the current study, as a first attempt, we examined the hypothesis that visual inputs during high-speed driving would activate the mesolimbic dopaminergic system that plays an important role in mediating motivational craving. To this end, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify speed-related activation changes in mesolimbic dopaminergic regions during the observation of driver-view videos in two groups that differed in self-reported speeding propensity. Results revealed, as we expected, greater activation in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in response to driver-view videos with higher speed. Contrary to our expectation, however, we found no significant between-group difference in speed-related activation changes in mesolimbic dopaminergic regions. Instead, an exploratory psychophysiological interaction analysis found that self-reported speeding propensity was associated with speed-related functional coupling between the VTA and the right intraparietal sulcus. Further validation of our hypothesis will require future studies examining associations between speed-related activation in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and individual differences in speeding propensity, using a more reliable measure of actual speeding propensity in real traffic.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Automobile Driving*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Dopaminergic Neurons / physiology*
  • Female
  • Healthy Volunteers
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Parietal Lobe / physiology*
  • Photic Stimulation*
  • Ventral Tegmental Area / physiology*
  • Young Adult