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Abstract

It would be useful to be able to directly measure the utilization of various brain systems during performance of any choosen task. During the last few years several investigators have been developing paradigms to use the P300 component of the averaged event-related potential (ERP) to assess cognitive workload. Initial results have been encouraging, and it has been suggested that the time may be ripe to transition this type of measure from the laboratory to industrial applications. In this presentation I will discuss the potential advantages and difficulties of the neuroelectric approach to cognitive workload assessment. I will consider current knowledge of the neural origin of P300, as well as its possible neural and psychological significance. Several of the popular paradigms for eliciting P300 will be reviewed, and the permissible inferences about neurocognitive functions obtainable from variations in P300 amplitude or latency will be outlined. The practical problems of transitioning an academic laboratory paradigm to an industrial research setting will be discussed, using the example of a flight simulator. Particular attention will be directed at the contamination of brain electrical recordings by instrumental artifacts, and by head, body and eye movements. The current state-of-the-art in automated detection and filtering of these contaminants will be summarized. Individual differences and the effects of metabolic factors, drugs and fatigue will be discussed, as will techniques for reducing “irrelevant” variance due to these factors.

Recent developments in measuring neurocognitve functions will be presented, emphasizing the extraction of more detailed information about multiple, simultaneously- and sequentially-active brain systems.

Basic research supported by grants and contracts from the National Science Foundation, The Office of Naval Research, The Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine.

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Use of Neuroelectric Measures to Assess Cognitive Workload

Abstract

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