Simulations of Elderly Drivers’ Retinal Responses Based on a Mathematical Model of Retinal Neuron Network

Abstract

To investigate the impacts of aging of the retina on visual perception during driving, we simulated retinal responses to traffic scene movies using a large-scale neuronal network model of the aged retina. The model was able to simulate retinal responses within a visual field of 30 deg in diameter. Aging in the retina was characterized by reduced number of retinal cells. Simulation results indicated that necessary information for traffic scene understanding was, at least partially, degraded in the aged retina. Our findings suggest that elderly drivers receive restricted visual information for traffic scene understanding due to age-related decline in retinal function.