Research on the Psychophysiological Basis of Human Vigilance
Abstract
The research products of a program of studies directed at identifying the psychophysiological basis of human vigilance are briefly summarized. Much of the work focused on identifying the relationship between the biogenic catecholamines, adrenaline (A) and noradrenaline (NA), and human vigilance. A new fluorometric assay for subnanogram concentrations of (A) and (NA) was developed. Several studies were performed showing substantial correlations between vigilance performance and circulating concentrations of (A). It was shown that vigilance could be increased through pulsatile infusions of (A). Vigilance was shown to be adversely affected by typical urban concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and by hypoxia experienced at high altitudes. It was also shown that vigilance decrements occur not only with typical laboratory tasks (used early in the program) but also with realistic radar monitoring tasks. Target detection performance, using a typical radar PPI, was shown to deteriorate over time as excretion rates of (A) decreased. Concurrent monitoring of the EEG showed that the performance decrement was also accompanied by a decreased percentage of Beta and increased percentage of Alpha and Theta.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA068562
Entities
People
- James F. O'hanlon Jr.