Circadian Rhythm Amplitude Effects on Nocturnal Brain Electrical Activity and Mental Performance

Abstract

This report describes an evaluation of the ability to detect changes in mental state, indicated by changes in performance, using electroencephalograms (EEGs). Sixteen subjects performed the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB) task during an overnight testing session. Body temperature, performance data, and EEG signals were acquired and analyzed. We grouped subjects by the circadian amplitude characteristic of body temperature, and found group differences in EEG activity and mental performance. Several significant differences across session occurred in both performance and EEG activities. Three significant correlations between performance and EEG activity occurred between theta activity at Fz compared to monitor response time and monitor error percent, and beta activity compared to monitor error percent. The finding lent credibility to the idea that body temperature circadian amplitude predicts nocturnal mental performance and that changes in performance are associated with EEG activity.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA381802

Entities

People

  • James C Miller
  • Laura Terry

Organizations

  • United States Air Force Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accidents
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Algorithms
  • Amplitude
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Body Temperature
  • Circadian Rhythms
  • Data Sets
  • Electroencephalography
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Monitoring
  • Psychology
  • Resource Management
  • Sleep Deprivation
  • United States
  • Workload

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology
  • Systems Analysis and Design