Physiological Investigation of Localized Temperature Effects on Vigilance Performance

Despite a long history of vigilance research, the relationship between the vigilance decrement and a broad range of physiology measures has not been fully documented. In an attempt to address this gap, an experiment was designed in which participants detected critical signals displayed at random during a 40-minute simulated air traffic control vigilance task. Three localized temperature condition changes, a positive, negative, or no change, were randomly assigned to participants and administered at the halfway point of the task. In addition to collecting performance data, cerebral oximetry, electrocardiography (ECG), and electrooculography (EOG) were utilized to collect a range of physiological signals from participants including cerebral oxygenation levels, heart rate, heart rate variability, blink rate, and interblink intervals. The physiology data when correlated with the decrement indicated by the performance data demonstrated a potential relationship between these measures. By identifying a vigilance decrement in individuals, one or more physiology measures may aid the design of interactive vigilance displays and compensatory measures for overcoming the vigilance decrement