Slower growth in working memory related to driving accidents among adolescents

[ad_1]

<div data-thumb = "https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2019/slowergrowth.jpg" data-src = "https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/ news / hires / 2019 / slowergrowth.jpg "data-sub-html =" Composite scores of working memory at each wave of evaluation for drivers and non-drivers Copyright: Copyright 2019 Walshe EA et al. JAMA Network open now">

Research into why teenagers lead to motor vehicle crashes, the leading cause of injury and death among US 16-19-year-olds, has often focused on experience and skills driving. But a new study suggests that adolescent brain development could play a crucial role in the likelihood of a teenager 's accident.

The study shows that the slowdown in working memory growth is associated with road accidents, suggesting that screening for cognitive development could be a new strategy for identifying and customizing driving for teens at high risk of accidents.

The study, led by researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania (APPC) and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), is the first longitudinal study on the development of working memory in relation to road accidents. The document "Development of working memory and road accidents among young drivers" was published today in JAMA Network open now.

The research examines data from 118 Philadelphia youth belonging to a larger group who participated in a six-wave survey, from ages 10 to 12, in 2005, up to age from 18 to 20 years old. old, in 2013-14. The survey measured the development of working memory, as well as the traits and behaviors associated with risk. This group then participated in a follow-up survey on the driving experience.

"We found that adolescents whose working memory development was slower were more likely to report being in an accident," said lead author, Elizabeth A. Walshe, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center. at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at CHOP.

Driving and working memory

Working memory, which develops between adolescence and twenties, is a frontal lobe process associated with complex and punctual tasks essential to driving. "Safe driving involves scanning, monitoring, and updating vehicle and environmental information while managing multiple subtasks (for example, adjusting speed, direction, controls in the vehicle) and distractors (eg, peers and mobile phones), "the researchers told their paper. All of these tasks pose a challenge to working memory, especially when a young driver has not yet learned how to automate many basic driving routines.

Teen drivers have the highest rate of accidents, injuries and death. Although lack of skills and lack of experience explain some of the risks soon after obtaining a driver's license, the risk of collision is inversely related to age during the first years of driving. In other words, among new drivers, those who are 17 years old have a higher collision rate than those who are 20 years old, which suggests a possible link with development.

"Not all young drivers fall," said Walshe. "So we thought, what about those who are locking in? This could be related to the variability in the development of working memory."

Results

Previous research has shown a link between reduced working memory capacity and careless and careless driving, accidents and poor performance in simulated driving tasks. For this study, researchers recruited participants from the Philadelphia Trajectory Study, a large six-wave study conducted by APPC and CHOP researchers. Over a period of seven years, between 11 and 13 years and between 18 and 20 years, this study measured the evolution of working memory and other characteristics. Subsequently, in 2015, 118 young adults, including 84 drivers and 34 non-drivers, participated in the follow-up survey on driving. Of the drivers, 25 reported having an accident history and 59 had not reported it.

Drivers who reported accidents and those who did not start at about the same point of working memory capacity although trends deviate from that. The researchers found that the relative growth of working memory was associated with car accidents three years after the start of driving. Young drivers whose work memory growth trajectory was below average in the group were more likely to report being in an accident; Drivers whose working memory had increased more than the average were more likely to say that they had not been victims of an accident.

The analysis took into account other risk factors, including reckless driving and drug use.

Traffic accidents: "Predictable and avoidable"

The researchers say the results have important political implications. While the 50 states all have a graduated driver's license program that is phasing out restrictions on young drivers, research suggests that individual assessments of adolescent cognitive development may also play an important role.

"If our results hold in larger samples with diverse youth, we will have to start assessing cognitive abilities, such as working memory, to see if some teens are less ready for autonomous driving," said Daniel Romer, Ph.D., research. Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Senior Member of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at CHOP. "The development of working memory varies greatly during adolescence and some teens may not be as ready to drive alone without additional assistance."

Flaura K. Winston, M.D., Ph.D., founder and scientific director of CHOP's Century for Injury Research and Prevention project, said allowing teens to become safe drivers is a health issue for physicians. Previous research was focused on driving skills and experience, but this study examines the cognitive development of typical teens and suggests that individual variation plays a critical role.

"This research underscores the fact that accidents are predictable and preventable," said Winston, also a distinguished researcher at APPC. "This puts more emphasis on the role of the driver and the clinician of the driver.A clinician could identify adolescents who will be at increased risk and use" precision prevention "to adapt preventive guidance in ways that young drivers safely reach their mobility. "

The prevention of accuracy, according to Mr. Winston, could offer different types of driver training or exemption from driving restrictions at different times depending on its development.

The researchers said that some form of screening or standardized testing during adolescence could determine which adolescents have a slower development of working memory. "Ideally, we could offer interventions such as driver training or technologies such as on-board alert systems to help new drivers who need it," said Walshe.

In addition to Walshe, Romer and Winston, the study was conducted by Laura M. Betancourt, Ph.D., and Kristin Arena, BS, CHOP, and Atika Khurana, Ph.D., from the College of Education, University. from Oregon, also distinguished researcher of the APPC.