Comparative Effects of Antihistamines on Aircrew Mission Effectiveness under Sustained Operations

Abstract

Seldane (terfenadine) and Benadryl (diphenhydramine) were tested against a placebo in six Command, Control, and Communications (C3) simulations involving a team of three AWACS weapons directors. Three of the simulations were high difficulty, three were low. An eclectic, hierarchical performance measurement system was developed to address several research questions. The results of these variables on mission effectiveness, the highest level of the performance hierarchy, are addressed in this report from the point of view of a mission commander. High difficulty scenarios degraded performance compared to low difficulty scenarios, but antihistamine treatments had no statistical effects on the team performance measures. Trends in the data and subjective ratings of a subject matter expert, however, indicated that the Benadryl groups were poorer performers. Some learning was evident across the three days of testing. Future data analyses are discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1992
Accession Number
ADA254203

Entities

People

  • Douglas R. Eddy
  • Mathieu A. Dalrymple
  • Samuel G. Schiflett

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Airborne Warning And Control System
  • Aircrafts
  • Cognitive Workload
  • Control Systems
  • Data Analysis
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Human Behavior
  • Information Processing
  • Measurement
  • Mental Processes
  • Performance Tests
  • Simulations
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Surveys
  • Tanker Aircraft

Readers

  • Aerospace Propulsion Engineering.
  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology
  • Regression Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control