Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://ahro.austin.org.au/austinjspui/handle/1/35537
Title: Driving performance and ocular activity following acute administration of 10 mg methylphenidate: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Austin Authors: Aitken, Blair;Downey, Luke A;Rose, Serah;Arkell, Thomas R;Shiferaw, Brook;Hayley, Amie C 
Affiliation: Centre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia.
Institute for Breathing and Sleep
Seeing Machines, Fyshwick, ACT, Australia.
Issue Date: 11-Oct-2024
Date: 2024
Publication information: Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) 2024-10-11
Abstract: Methylphenidate is a routinely prescribed treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with misuse potential owing to its perceived performance-enhancing and euphoric properties. Although clinically effective, there is limited understanding of how methylphenidate affects safety-sensitive tasks such as driving when used by healthy individuals. Explore the acute effects of 10 mg methylphenidate on driving performance and gaze behaviour. Twenty-five fully licensed, healthy adults (mean age = 33.5 ± 7.8 years, 64% male) took part in two 40-min simulated highway drives with simultaneous eye movements monitored using a proprietary automotive-grade driver monitoring system (Seeing Machines). Driving performance was assessed using the standard deviation of lateral position, standard deviation of speed and steering variability. Visual scanning efficiency was determined using ocular metrics, such as fixation duration and rate, gaze transition entropy, and stationary gaze entropy, were assessed to determine visual scanning efficiency. Methylphenidate significantly improved driving performance by reducing lane weaving and speed variation, particularly in the latter half of the drive. Although a significant reduction in fixation duration was observed, all other ocular metrics remained unchanged. Methylphenidate mitigates performance decrements typically associated with prolonged and monotonous driving. The absence of pronounced oculomotor effects suggests that a single 10 mg dose of methylphenidate has no deleterious impact on visual scanning behaviour during driving tasks with low-to-moderate cognitive demand. Future research should investigate the effects of methylphenidate under various dosing and driving conditions to better understand its impact. ACTRN12620000499987.
URI: https://ahro.austin.org.au/austinjspui/handle/1/35537
DOI: 10.1177/02698811241286715
ORCID: 0000-0001-7607-7344
0000-0002-4470-4718
Journal: Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
Start page: 2698811241286715
PubMed URL: 39394668
ISSN: 1461-7285
Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Methylphenidate
driving performance
ocular monitoring
psychostimulants
road safety
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