Infiniti gauges emotional responses to driving the Q50S Sport

At a time of year devoted to the expression of emotion, love and passion, Infiniti measured real-time neural reactions of 100 drivers as they drove the Q50S Sport. The test measured drivers' emotional response while at the wheel of the most powerful version of Infiniti's best-selling sports saloon.

Infiniti collaborated with Emotiv - a bioinformatics company specialising in electroencephalogram (EEG) technology - to monitor brain activity during the test drives. Data from participants was then evaluated against the Hebbian-Yerkes-Dodson behavioural performance model. The scientifically-validated Hebbian-Yerkes-Dodson model suggests that greater mental arousal and engagement is required to realise the best possible performance in an activity, such as driving.

The data found that a drive in the Q50S Sport elicited greater levels of mental excitement, focus and engagement when compared to a generic, simulated driving experience. Emotiv's independent interpretation of brainwave activity, captured by the EEG, mirrored the shape of the Hebbian-Yerkes-Dodson curve - drivers experienced optimal peak levels of emotional engagement with the act of driving the sports saloon, which produces a thrilling 400bhp from its 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine.