Progress in the Psychophysiological Assessment of Workload
Abstract
This report is a review of the efforts of the Workload and Ergonomics Branch in the area of psychophysiological measurement of human cognitive workload. Three areas are covered: flight studies, laboratory electrophysiological research, and the magnetoencephalography laboratory. This includes current progress and future directions in these areas. Physiological data have been used to monitor crew workload in three flight studies and have provided a wealth of data. Evoked brain activity, heart rate, heart rate variability, eyeblinks, and respiration have been used to determine the cognitive workload of crew members. In the laboratory, topographic mapping of brain evoked potentials and ongoing brain activity have been used to study cognitive task difficulty. Heart rate, heart rate variability, eyeblinks, and respiration are also used. We are developing a clear picture of the effects of cognitive task difficulty on these physiological measures to the point that we have begun to classify cognitive tasks on the basis of these data. The work in the magnetoencephalography laboratory permits us to have a better understanding of brain function during cognition. Evoked fields have been used to study cognitive activity using the probe paradigm and the brain's processing of sensory information.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA263609
Entities
People
- Glenn F. Wilson
Organizations
- Armstrong Laboratory