Ryoto Akiyama

Age- and cognitive-related changes in visual search behavior may affect driving performance, particularly during complex road maneuvers requiring continuous steering adjustments. The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics of visual search behavior in elderly drivers during S-curve driving. Seven elderly drivers with a high prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and ten expert drivers working as professional driving instructors performed crank and S-curve driving tasks. Their visual search behavior toward reference points and surrounding reference areas was monitored using an eye tracker (Tobii Pro Glasses 2). Linear mixed-effects model analysis revealed a significant Group × Area of Interest interaction: elderly drivers allocated significantly longer gaze dwell percentages to inner reference areas (specifically, Reference Areas 11 and 13) during the second half of the S-curve compared to expert drivers (p < 0.001). These findings imply that expanded gaze allocation toward reference areas may serve as a potential compensatory mechanism in elderly drivers with MCI features to construct spatial awareness under dynamic driving demands, representing one of several plausible interpretations alongside cognitive and task-related factors. These preliminary insights could contribute to understanding visual search mechanisms in elderly clinical populations.

Background/Aims: The aim of the present study was to examine the potential association between a specific gaze behavior, “overstay fixations,” observed during the Trail Making Test, and cognitive functional independence after stroke. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, observational study. Hospitalized patients with mild stroke (n = 12) and healthy young adults (n = 19) performed the electronic version of Trail Making Test. The number of overstay fixations and the total completion time were measured. In the patients with mild stroke, the total time in conventional Japanese version of Trail Making Test and the cognitive scores in Functional Independence Measure were measured. Findings: The mild stroke group showed significantly more overstay fixations as task difficulty increased ( p = 0.005). A significant correlation existed between the overstay fixations during the electronic version of Trail Making Test part A and the cognitive Functional Independence Measure scores for Comprehension ( r = -0.643) and Memory ( r = -0.610). Multiple regression revealed that the total time and overstay fixations in the electronic version of the Trail Making Test were more strongly associated with the Comprehension score (R² = 0.850) compared with the total time in the paper-based Trail Making Test (R² = 0.397). Similarly, the Memory score showed stronger associations with the total time and overstay fixations in the electronic version of the Trail Making Test (R² = 0.684) than with the total time in the paper-based version (R² = 0.391). Conclusions: The overstay fixation was associated with specific domains of cognitive functional independence in patients with mild stroke.

Background: Visual search supports action planning and target selection in daily life. Despite toileting being frequent yet high-risk in rehabilitation, gaze analyses specific to toileting remain limited. This study quantified visual search behavior during the approach phase of toileting. Methods: Twenty inpatients aged 65 years or older in a convalescent rehabilitation ward participated in the study. At the time of hospital admission, their gaze behavior from toilet room entry to arrival at the bowl was recorded using an eye tracker (Tobii Pro Glasses 2). Moreover, we evaluated a toilet-functional independence measure (toilet-FIM), comprising toileting, toilet transfer, and locomotion at discharge. Results: In multiple regression, a longer total gaze time directed towards the toilet seat was associated with a greater toilet-FIM independence (β = 0.446), whereas prolonged gaze to the toilet rim (β = −0.839) and to the right handrail (β = −0.621) were related to lower independence (adjusted R² = 0.715). Conclusions: A toilet seat-oriented gaze implies effective action planning for safe sit-down, whereas toilet rim- or handrail-oriented gazes may reflect responses to visual salience or compensatory visual strategies related to reduced independence. These observations could improve our understanding of older patients’ motor planning and spatial perception in toileting.

The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of visual search behavior in elderly drivers in reverse parking. Fourteen healthy elderly and fourteen expert drivers performed a perpendicular parking task. The parking process was divided into three consecutive phases (Forward, Reverse, and Straighten the wheel) and the visual search behavior was monitored using an eye tracker (Tobii Pro Glasses 2). In addition, driving-related tests and quality of life were evaluated in elderly drivers. As a result, elderly drivers had a shorter time of gaze at the vertex of the parking space both in direct vision and reflected in the driver-side mirror during the Forward and the Reverse phases. In contrast, they had increased gaze time in the passenger-side mirror in the Straighten the wheel phase. Multiple regression analysis revealed that quality of life could be predicted by the total gaze time in the Straighten the wheel phase (β = −0.45), driving attitude (β = 0.62), and driving performance (β = 0.58); the adjusted R² value was 0.87. These observations could improve our understanding of the characteristics of visual search behavior in parking performance and how this behavior is related to quality of life in elderly drivers.