title: Effects of the periodic administration of odor or vibration on a 3-hr. vigilance task.
abstract: The present study examined performance during 3 hr. of simulated sentry duty with and without the intermittent administration of low-level sensory stimuli (odor or vibration). For odor and control conditions, target-detection latency increased steadily over the course of the 3-hr. session. Administration of a tactile stimulus reduced the increase in detection latency compared to that found in odor and control conditions. For all conditions, there were no significant differences in target-detection frequency, shot accuracy, or friend-foe discrimination. Across all conditions, restlessness (motor activity) increased significantly the first hour and remained elevated for the rest of the session. Subjective measures of workload (NASA-TLX) indicated that the 3-hr. task rated high on physical demand, mental demand, frustration, and overall workload. These findings suggest that the intermittent delivery of a clearly detectable tactile stimulus can reduce reaction-time decrements that occur as time on task increases.
authors.affiliation: Military Performance Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA 01760-5007, USA.
authors.forename: Sharon A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.forename: Richard F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Donna J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Merullo
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Bartow
mesh_terms: D001143:Arousal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D010507:Periodicity; D014732:Vibration