Abstract
The gamma-band activities in the parietal and the visual cortices play a crucial role in manipulating mental representation of 3-D objects. However, it is not fully characterized whether individual changes in the gamma-band activity are correlated with the individual difference in the performance of mental image processing required both during the cognitive task in the lab setting and during the everyday life such as vehicle driving. Here, we measured EEG responses during the 3-D mental rotation task. The subjects' performance of vehicle driving was also evaluated in the simulated environment.Increase in 30 Hz gamma-band power at the occipital and the superior parietal areas were significantly correlated with the mental rotation task performance, which suggests that the efficient binding of visual features represented in these regions leads to better performance. Also, the gamma-band power was significantly correlated with the performance of vehicle driving as evaluated by stability of lane keeping under lower visibility condition. The findings suggest the possibility of predicting the driving capability from the cognitive task performance corrected offline.
