Optic flow density modulates corner-cutting independently of age in a virtual reality steering task

ABSTRACT There is a critical need to understand how aging visual systems contribute to age-related increases in vehicle accidents. We investigated the potential contribution of age-related detriments in steering based on optic flow, a source of information known to play a role in navigation control. Seventeen younger adults (mean age: 21.1 years) and thirteen older adults (mean age: 57.3 years) performed a virtual reality steering task. The virtual environment depicted movement at 19 m/s along a winding road. Participants were tasked with maintaining a central lane position while experiencing 8 repetitions of each combination of optic flow density (low, medium, high), turn radius (35, 55, 75 meters), and turn direction (left, right), presented in random order. All participants cut corners, but did so less on turns with rotational flow from distant landmarks and without proximal optic flow. The magnitude of this flow-related effect was independent of age, although older adults cut corners more on all turns. An exploratory gaze analysis revealed no age-related differences in gaze behavior. The lack of age-related differences in steering or gaze behavior as a function of optic flow implies that processing of naturalistic optic flow stimuli when steering may be preserved with age.