ArticlePsychopharmacology2015
Comparing treatment effects of oral THC on simulated and on-the-road driving performance: testing the validity of driving simulator drug research.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07176208 (Dose Ranging Clinical Study to Evaluate the Effects of Oral Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), which is not on this map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Dose Ranging Clinical Study to Evaluate the Effects of Oral Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) With and Without Alcohol on Perception and Driving Performance in Healthy Adults
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of driving with blood delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a systematic review.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Alcohol consumption for simulated driving performance: A systematic review.Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua chuang shang za zhi · 2017Pooled it
- Potency-related effects of smoked cannabis on simulated driving performance: a randomized, controlled crossover trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Preliminary study of the interactive effects of THC and ethanol on self-reported ability and simulated driving, subjective effects, and cardiovascular responses.Psychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Effect of CannEpilJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Trial
- Fit for purpose of on-the-road driving and simulated driving: A randomised crossover study using the effect of sleep deprivation.PloS one · 2023Trial
- Effects of cannabidiol on simulated driving and cognitive performance: A dose-ranging randomised controlled trial.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Cannabidiol (CBD) content in vaporized cannabis does not prevent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-induced impairment of driving and cognition.Psychopharmacology · 2019Trial
- Smartphone-integrated lateral flow assay for robust detection of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol.Biosensors & bioelectronics · 2026Article
- Article
- Recent Advances in the Science of Cannabis-Impaired Driving.Current addiction reports · 2026Review
- The effect of cannabis edibles on driving and blood THC.Journal of cannabis research · 2024Article
- Cannabis and Driving in Older Adults.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Effects of kratom on driving: Results from a cross-sectional survey, ecological momentary assessment, and pilot simulated driving Study.Traffic injury prevention · 2024Article
- The Effect of Partial Sleep Deprivation and Time-on-Task on Young Drivers' Subjective and Objective Sleepiness.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The effects of oral and vaporized cannabis alone, and in combination with alcohol, on driving performance using the STISIM driving simulator: A two-part, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, randomized crossover clinical laboratory protocol.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Driving under the influence of drugs: Correlation between blood psychoactive drug concentrations and cognitive impairment. A narrative review taking into account forensic issues.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2022Review
- Over-speeding trend across self-reported driving aberrant behaviors: A simulator study.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- A rapid assay provides on-site quantification of tetrahydrocannabinol in oral fluid.Science translational medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleThe driving simulator provides a safe and controlled environment for testing driving behaviour efficiently. The question is whether it is sensitive to detect drug-induced effects.
objectiveThe primary aim of the current study was to investigate the sensitivity of the driving simulator for detecting drug effects. As a case in point, we investigated the dose-related effects of oral ∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), i.e. dronabinol, on simulator and on-the-road driving performance in equally demanding driving tasks.
methodTwenty-four experienced driver participants were treated with dronabinol (Marinol®; 10 and 20 mg) and placebo. Dose-related effects of the drug on the ability to keep a vehicle in lane (weaving) and to follow the speed changes of a lead car (car following) were compared within subjects for on-the-road versus in-simulator driving. Additionally, the outcomes of equivalence testing to alcohol-induced effects were investigated.
resultsTreatment effects found on weaving when driving in the simulator were comparable to treatment effects found when driving on the road. The effect after 10 mg dronabinol was however less strong in the simulator than on the road and inter-individual variance seemed higher in the simulator. There was, however, a differential treatment effect of dronabinol on reactions to speed changes of a lead car (car following) when driving on the road versus when driving in the simulator.
conclusionThe driving simulator was proven to be sensitive for demonstrating dronabinol-induced effects particularly at higher doses. Treatment effects of dronabinol on weaving were comparable with driving on the road but inter-individual variability seemed higher in the simulator than on the road which may have potential effects on the clinical inferences made from simulator driving. Car following on the road and in the simulator were, however, not comparable.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.