Aerospace Medicine and Biology: a Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (Supplement 328)

This bibliography lists 104 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during September, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 339)

This bibliography lists 105 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during July 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

Design, Development, Testing, and Evaluation: Human Factors Engineering

While human-system interaction occurs in all phases of system development and operation, this chapter on Human Factors in the DDT&E for Reliable Spacecraft Systems is restricted to the elements that involve "direct contact" with spacecraft systems. Such interactions will encompass all phases of human activity during the design, fabrication, testing, operation, and maintenance phases of the spacecraft lifespan. This section will therefore consider practices that would accommodate and promote effective, safe, reliable, and robust human interaction with spacecraft systems. By restricting this chapter to what the team terms "direct contact" with the spacecraft, "remote" factors not directly involved in the development and operation of the vehicle, such as management and organizational issues, have been purposely excluded. However, the design of vehicle elements that enable and promote ground control activities such as monitoring, feedback, correction and reversal (override) of on-board human and automation process are considered as per NPR8705.2A, Section 3.3

Effects of cognitive tasks on car drivers’ behaviors and physiological responses

The effects of drivers’ engagement in cognitive tasks (i.e., non-visual, cognitively loading activities unrelated to the task of driving) are debated and unclear. Numerous experiments show impaired driver behaviors, yet naturalistic studies typically do not find an increased crash risk. In the future, autonomous driving (AD) is expected to improve traffic safety while allowing safe engagement in cognitive (and other) tasks. Having the opportunity to perform non-driving related tasks while traveling may then motivate drivers to use AD, provided they can actually engage in the tasks. Unfortunately, research on drivers’ engagement in cognitive tasks suffers severe methodological limitations since reliable and unintrusive measures of cognitive load are lacking.The aim of this thesis is therefore to advance the understanding of task-induced cognitive load in the context of traffic safety. This aim is split into two objectives: A) to better understand how drivers’ involvement in cognitive tasks can affect safety-relevant driver behaviors and decisions and B) to provide methodological guidance about assessing cognitive load in drivers using physiological measures.To accomplish Objective A, effects of cognitive tasks on driver behaviors were studied during routine driving and in a safety-critical event in a driving simulator. Also, drivers’ ability to engage in a non-driving related task while using AD in real traffic was explored. In line with the cognitive control hypothesis (Engstr\uf6m et al., 2017), it was found that cognitive tasks negatively affected driver behaviors in situations where cognitive control was needed, for example in intersections—but not in a lead vehicle braking scenario where responses were triggered automatically by visual looming. It was also found that although the number of off-path glances decreased during cognitive load, the timing of the remaining glances was unaffected. Clearly, cognitive load has different effects on different mechanisms. When using AD, drivers were indeed capable of engaging in a non-driving related task—suggesting that AD will be able to fulfill drivers’ desire to perform such tasks while traveling, which may motivate AD usage and thus improve traffic safety (given that AD is truly safer than manual driving). Finally, a simulator study addressing Objective B showed that the measurability of cognitive load was greatly improved by recognizing that multiple coexisting mental responses give rise to different physiological responses. This approach can provide less context-dependent measurements and allows for a better, more detailed understanding of the effects of cognitive tasks.These findings can help improve traffic safety—both by being used in system development, and as part of the systems themselves

HEY LARRY! INVESTIGATING INTERRUPTIONS IN FUTURE VERTICAL LIFT PLATFORMS

Using technology to improve human performance is critical to maximizing the benefits of future combat systems. This study explores the effects of interruptions during high and low cognitive load states when completing dynamic tasks. Furthermore, it provides insight into how to integrate artificial intelligence and virtual assistants into future aircraft effectively. This research and the following analysis provided the Holistic Situation Awareness and Decision Making (HSA-DM) program office with meaningful data and recommendations that will enable them to reduce the impact of interruptions while improving the performance of future pilots. Specifically, this study collected and examined heart rate variability, subjective cognitive load, flight metrics, interruption lag, and task resumption lag while participants piloted an aircraft and performed dynamic tasks in a flight simulator. There were three different modalities used to assist participants with completing interrupted tasks while performing their primary task. The research team determined that the tactile activated artificial intelligence was the most effective at reducing total interruption time while having the smallest effects on flight performance and cognitive load.Major, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 130, July 1974

This special bibliography lists 291 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in June 1974

Aerospace medicine and biology: A cumulative index to a continuing bibliography (supplement 345)

This publication is a cumulative index to the abstracts contained in Supplements 333 through 344 of Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography. Seven indexes are included -- subject, personal author, corporate source, foreign technology, contract number, report number, and accession number

Effectiveness analysis of traditional and mixed reality simulations in medical training: a methodological approach for the assessment of stress, cognitive load and performance

La simulazione nell'educazione in medicina è considerata un metodo di formazione in grado di migliorare le competenze cliniche e il comportamento degli operatori sanitari e, di conseguenza, la qualità dell'assistenza per il paziente. Inoltre, l'utilizzo di nuove tecnologie come la Realtà Aumentata, offre ai discenti l'opportunità di esercitarsi in un ambiente immersivo. L'opportunità di sperimentare questo innovativo metodo didattico è efficace non solo nel ridurre il rischio di errori e approcci sbagliati ma anche nel provare ansia e stress simili a quelli avvertiti nella pratica reale. La sfida sta nel trovare il giusto equilibrio. I discenti devono infatti provare lo stesso stress che avvertirebbero lavorando ad un vero caso clinico ma, allo stesso tempo, devono essere controllati ed evitati possibili disturbi da stress post-traumatico, verificabili soprattutto nel campo della gestione delle emergenze (pronto soccorso). Inoltre, è fondamentale anche ottenere alte prestazioni e un apprendimento adeguato, evitando sovraccarichi cognitivi che influenzerebbero negativamente l’apprendimento. Tuttavia, ad oggi mancano ancora studi approfonditi sull'impatto che le simulazioni mediche hanno su stress, frustrazione, carico cognitivo e apprendimento dei discenti. Per questo motivo, l'obiettivo principale di questo studio è valutare l'efficacia del training tramite simulazione, analizzando prestazioni, ansia, stress e carico cognitivo durante simulazioni cliniche tradizionali (con manichino) ed avanzate (in realtà mista). A questo scopo, è stato sviluppato un approccio metodologico strutturato e completo per valutare le prestazioni, le condizioni emotive e cognitive degli studenti. Questo comprende l'acquisizione e l'analisi di parametri psicologici (valutazione soggettiva), segnali biometrici (valutazione oggettiva) e prestazioni. Questa indagine consente di evidenziare i punti deboli delle simulazioni e offre l'opportunità di definire utili linee guida per la riprogettazione e l'ottimizzazione delle stesse. La metodologia è stata applicata su tre casi studio: il primo si riferisce a simulazioni ad alta fedeltà per la gestione del paziente in pronto soccorso, il secondo si riferisce a simulazioni a bassa fedeltà per la pratica della rachicentesi. Per il terzo caso studio, è stato progettato e sviluppato un prototipo di simulatore in realtà mista per la rachicentesi, con l'obiettivo di migliorare il senso di realismo e immersione della simulazione a bassa fedeltà. 148 studenti sono stati coinvolti nei primi due casi studio osservazionali, mentre soltanto 36 studenti hanno preso parte allo studio pilota sulla simulazione in realtà mista. In tutti i casi di studio sono state effettuate analisi descrittive delle prestazioni, degli stati cognitivi ed emotivi. Per le simulazioni ad alta e bassa fedeltà, le analisi di regressione statistica hanno evidenziato quali variabili influenzano le prestazioni, lo stress e il carico cognitivo degli studenti. Per lo studio pilota sulla realtà mista, l'analisi della user experience ha sottolineato i limiti tecnici della nuova tecnologia.Simulation in medical education is considered a training method capable of improving clinical competence and practitioners’ behaviour, and, consequently quality of care and patient’s outcome. Moreover, the use of new technologies, such as augmented reality, offers to the learners the opportunity to engage themselves in an immersive environment. The opportunity to experiment with this innovative instructional method is effective not only in reducing the risk of errors and wrong approaches but also in experiencing anxiety and stress as in real practice. The challenge is to find the right stress balance: learners have to feel as if they were practicing in the real stressful clinical case, and, at the same time, post-traumatic stress disorders, verifiable especially in the emergency field, must be controlled and avoided. Moreover, it is fundamental also to obtain high performance and learning, thus avoiding cognitive overloads. However, extensive researches about the impact of medical simulations on students’ stress, frustration, cognitive load, and learning are still lacking. For this reason, the main objective of this study is to assess simulation training effectiveness by analysing performance, anxiety, stress, and cognitive load during traditional (with manikin) and advanced (with augmented reality) clinical simulations. A structured and comprehensive methodological approach to assess performance, emotional and cognitive conditions of students has been developed. It includes the acquisition and analysis of psychological parameters (subjective assessment), biometric signals (objective assessment), and task performance. This investigation allows to point out simulations’ weaknesses and offers the opportunity to define useful optimisation guidelines. The methodology has been applied to three case studies: the first one refers to high-fidelity simulations, for the patient management in the emergency room, the second one refers to low-fidelity simulation for rachicentesis. For the third case study, a prototype of a mixed reality simulator for the rachicentesis practice has been designed and developed aiming at improving the sense of realism and immersion of the low-fidelity simulation. While 148 students have been enrolled in the first two case studies, only 36 students have taken part in the pilot study about mixed reality simulation. Descriptive analysis about performance, cognitive and emotional states have been done in all the case studies. For the high-fidelity and low-fidelity simulations, the statistical regression analysis has pointed out which variables affect students’ performance, stress, and cognitive load. For the pilot study about mixed reality, the user experience analysis highlighted the technical limitations of the new technology

Cognitive Decay And Memory Recall During Long Duration Spaceflight

This dissertation aims to advance the efficacy of Long-Duration Space Flight (LDSF) pre-flight and in-flight training programs, acknowledging existing knowledge gaps in NASA\u27s methodologies. The research\u27s objective is to optimize the cognitive workload of LDSF crew members, enhance their neurocognitive functionality, and provide more meaningful work experiences, particularly for Mars missions.The study addresses identified shortcomings in current training and learning strategies and simulation-based training systems, focusing on areas requiring quantitative measures for astronaut proficiency and training effectiveness assessment. The project centers on understanding cognitive decay and memory loss under LDSF-related stressors, seeking to establish when such cognitive decline exceeds acceptable performance levels throughout mission phases. The research acknowledges the limitations of creating a near-orbit environment due to resource constraints and the need to develop engaging tasks for test subjects. Nevertheless, it underscores the potential impact on future space mission training and other high-risk professions. The study further explores astronaut training complexities, the challenges encountered in LDSF missions, and the cognitive processes involved in such demanding environments. The research employs various cognitive and memory testing events, integrating neuroimaging techniques to understand cognition\u27s neural mechanisms and memory. It also explores Rasmussen\u27s S-R-K behaviors and Brain Network Theory’s (BNT) potential for measuring forgetting, cognition, and predicting training needs. The multidisciplinary approach of the study reinforces the importance of integrating insights from cognitive psychology, behavior analysis, and brain connectivity research. Research experiments were conducted at the University of North Dakota\u27s Integrated Lunar Mars Analog Habitat (ILMAH), gathering data from selected subjects via cognitive neuroscience tools and Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings to evaluate neurocognitive performance. The data analysis aimed to assess brain network activations during mentally demanding activities and compare EEG power spectra across various frequencies, latencies, and scalp locations. Despite facing certain challenges, including inadequacies of the current adapter boards leading to analysis failure, the study provides crucial lessons for future research endeavors. It highlights the need for swift adaptation, continual process refinement, and innovative solutions, like the redesign of adapter boards for high radio frequency noise environments, for the collection of high-quality EEG data. In conclusion, while the research did not reveal statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups, it furnished valuable insights and underscored the need to optimize astronaut performance, well-being, and mission success. The study contributes to the ongoing evolution of training methodologies, with implications for future space exploration endeavors