Findings were counter to initial hypotheses. Although further work is needed, this effect may relate to Reciprocity Theory which posits those who require more social support experience emotional distress due to feelings of unwanted dependence and a lack of perceived ability to reciprocate support. This experience may adversely affect EF through an increase in negative emotions and stress. Further exploration of moderators of this relationship is warranted.

Neuropsychologists can serve as social change agents in local and regional neuropsychology organizations, and create transformational spaces for accessible, equitable, and sustainable neuropsychology practices and training environments.

Objective:Driving is a cognitively demanding activity commonly affected by brain injury and illness. Accurate driving assessment is essential for reducing risk, optimizing independence, and informing driving-related interventions. Virtual reality driving simulation (VRDS) enables safe, sensitive, objective, and standardized measurement of driving abilities. VRDS has been validated in relation to self-reports and driver records. However, self-reports are subjective, and driver records include only major events (collisions, violations). Video telematics platforms can measure naturalistic driving in a more objective and sensitive manner. The present study used video telematics to examine relationships between VRDS performance and directly observed naturalistic driving.Participants and Methods:20 healthy adult drivers (ages 23-61, mean age=36; 75% women) completed a VRDS assessment that included 1) driving on a straight road, 2) following a truck on a highway, and 3) reacting to a child running into a street to retrieve a ball. Primary VRDS measures were 1) speed and lane management on the straight road; 2) speed and following distance management in the truck-following task; and 3) reaction time, stopping, and distance from the child in the child-ball task. Participants also completed 28 days of naturalistic driving with a video telematics platform in their vehicle. Driving events were detected automatically using accelerometer, GPS, and video data, and driving behaviors were coded by driving risk analysts. The primary naturalistic measure was the number of unsafe driving behaviors per hour driven; specific driving behaviors served as exploratory variables. We examined correlations between VRDS and naturalistic driving variables. Given limited statistical power, we reported correlations that were small-to-medium or greater (r>.2) in primary analyses and medium-to-large or greater (r>.4) in exploratory analyses.Results:On average, drivers exhibited approximately one unsafe driving behavior per hour (M=0.9, SD=0.9, range=0.1-2.7). Common behaviors were failing to stop, unsafe following distance, speeding, and cell phone use. No collisions occurred. Average lane position in VRDS (specifically, leftward deviation from the center of the lane) was correlated with more real-world unsafe driving behaviors per hour (r=.35, p=.13), as were higher average straight road speed (r=.26, p=.27), greater straight road speed variability (r=.28, p=.24), and failing to stop for the child in the child-ball task (r=.22, p=.36). In exploratory analyses, failing to stop for the child was associated with real-world distracted driving (r=.45, p=.047), greater lane position variability in VRDS was associated with real-world unsafe following distance (r=.57, p=.009), and greater speed variability in VRDS was associated with real-world seat belt non-use/misuse (r=.49, p=.03).Conclusions:The present findings provide preliminary evidence that VRDS variables are related to directly observed naturalistic driving, supporting the potential utility of VRDS as a sensitive, ecologically valid driving evaluation tool. As the present study used a small sample of healthy drivers, further research will explore this topic in larger samples and in clinical populations, such as acquired brain injury. Future work will also investigate whether incorporating VRDS with conventional driving evaluation tools (e.g., neuropsychological tests, behind-the-wheel assessments) can enhance the ability of clinical driving evaluations to predict real-world risky driving.

Objective:Research suggests greater perceived social support is associated with better general cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. While these findings expand our understanding of the role of social support in healthy aging, further work is needed to investigate the role of social support in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Of particular interest is the relationship between executive function (EF), communicative effectiveness, and social support, as these are common areas of decline and are likely to impact one’s ability to meaningfully interact with others. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between perceived social support, EF, and communicative effectiveness. We hypothesize better EF performance and communicative effectiveness would be associated with higher levels of perceived social support in older adults with MCI.Participants and Methods:One hundred and twenty-one older adults with MCI were included in the current study. All participants were enrolled in Charles and Harriett Schaffer Cognitive Empowerment Program (CEP) at Emory University, a comprehensive lifestyle program for individuals diagnosed with MCI and their care partners. Upon CEP enrollment, participants completed self-report questionnaires, including the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Communicative Effectiveness Index (CETI), and EF assessments including Letter Fluency (phonemic fluency), Digit Span Backward (working memory), and the Test of Practical Judgment (decision making). Additionally, a subset of participants completed the written Trail Making Test - Part B (set-shifting; n = 63). Pearson bivariate correlations were utilized to explore the relationship between MSPSS, CETI, and EF performance.Results:Higher levels of perceived social support were significantly associated with communicative effectiveness (r = .210, p = .021), such that participants who endorsed having more social support also reported greater confidence in their communicative effectiveness. Perceived social support was associated with better working memory performance (r = .342, p < .001), phonemic fluency output (r = .261, p = .041), and shorter time to complete TMT-B (r = -.244, p = .052), indicating individuals with higher perceived social support demonstrated better EF abilities. Finally, greater confidence in communicative effectiveness was associated with better performances in working memory (r = .274; p = .008), phonemic fluency output (r = .213; p = .020) and decision making (r =.192; p = .044), suggesting stronger working memory, phonemic fluency, and practical decision-making abilities support better communicative effectiveness. There was no association between social support and practical decision-making abilities (r = .146, p = .129).Conclusions:The current findings demonstrate a link between higher levels of social support, communicative effectiveness, and EF abilities, particularly in the subdomains of working memory, phonemic fluency, and set-shifting. This link suggests individuals with stronger EF abilities may have greater communicative effectiveness and, in turn, may be better able to maintain social relationships and garner social support. Future research is needed to evaluate the causality in this relationship, as it remains possible those with stronger social support networks maintain communicative effectiveness and EF for longer. Thus, further evaluation of the mechanism(s) underlying the relationships between social support, EF, and communicative effectiveness is needed.

In healthy adult drivers, better performance in the domains of visuospatial memory, processing speed, and attention is associated with greater engagement in unsafe driving behaviors. In the absence of concern about cognitive compromise, individuals may feel more comfortable making risky behaviors. We plan to expand this work to broader samples and clinical populations to increase generalizability and applicability to clinical driving evaluations.