Atropine, Stress and Human Performance.
Abstract
This study investigated the independent and combined effects of a 2.0 mg dose of atropine,a period of pre-dose exercise and a night of sleep loss on cognitive performance, self-reports, sleepiness and physiological variables in healthy young men. Recent studies suggested that both atropine and sleep deprivation cause selective impairment of cognitive functions associated with the active processing of information input. In humans, exercise had no significant main effect on performance and failed to potentiate the effects of atropine. However, exercise effects did interact with those of sleep deprivation, potentiating the deleterious effects of sleep loss on visual signal detection, auditory vigilance and choice reaction time. With both atropine dose and sleep loss, subjects reported decreases in alertness and efficiency. Exercise did not affect sleep tendency. As expected, the 2.0mg atropine dose caused pupillary dilation and large increases in heart rate. The tachycardia was accompanied by an increase in diastolic blood pressure. Exercise caused large increases in heart rate accompanied by increased systolic pressures with no change in diastolic pressure. In general, the data suggest that atropine and sleep loss in combination could lead to catastrophic performance failures in the field, particularly on tasks that demand accurate and high speed analysis of visual or auditory information.(kt)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA195801
Entities
People
- Frank A. Holloway
- Harold L. Williams
- John Carney
Organizations
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center