Electrocortical Activity and Operator Workload: A Comparison of Changes in the Electroencephalogram and in Event-Related Potentials

Abstract

Pilot workload consideration are beginning to have a distinct cognitive emphasis, due to changes that are occurring in display formats and operating procedures. Consequently, new techniques for assessing workload must be developed that are more sensitive to fluctuations in attentiveness and in the capacity to time-share several system demands for processing, decision-making, and action. A flight simulation experiment was conducted in which pilots were trained to follow a commanded flight profile and maintain airspeed while concurrently performing threat avoidance and target acquisition tasks. Two types of brain electrical activity, event-related potentials (ERPs) and the 'ongoing' electroencephalogram (EEG), were analyzed in response to direct manipulations of difficulty in executing commanded flight maneuvers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA237188

Entities

People

  • Frank E. Gomer
  • Kirmach Natani

Organizations

  • McDonnell Douglas

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Astronautics
  • Central Nervous System
  • Cognition
  • Cognitive Workload
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Bands
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Information Processing
  • Monitoring
  • Nervous System
  • Psychophysiology
  • Reaction Time
  • Target Acquisition
  • Target Tracking
  • Task Performance And Analysis

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Systems Analysis and Design