title: Visual and auditory reaction time for air traffic controllers using quantitative electroencephalograph (QEEG) data.
abstract: The use of quantitative electroencephalograph in the analysis of air traffic controllers' performance can reveal with a high temporal resolution those mental responses associated with different task demands. To understand the relationship between visual and auditory correct responses, reaction time, and the corresponding brain areas and functions, air traffic controllers were given an integrated visual and auditory continuous reaction task. Strong correlations were found between correct responses to the visual target and the theta band in the frontal lobe, the total power in the medial of the parietal lobe and the theta-to-beta ratio in the left side of the occipital lobe. Incorrect visual responses triggered activations in additional bands including the alpha band in the medial of the frontal and parietal lobes, and the Sensorimotor Rhythm in the medial of the parietal lobe. Controllers' responses to visual cues were found to be more accurate but slower than their corresponding performance on auditory cues. These results suggest that controllers are more susceptible to overload when more visual cues are used in the air traffic control system, and more errors are pruned as more auditory cues are used. Therefore, workload studies should be carried out to assess the usefulness of additional cues and their interactions with the air traffic control environment.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Information Technology, University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia. hussein.abbass@gmail.com.|Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive, Singapore, 117583, Singapore. hussein.abbass@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hussein A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Abbass
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Information Technology, University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.
authors.forename: Jiangjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Eurocontrol Experimental Centre, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ellejmi
authors.affiliation: Eurocontrol Experimental Centre, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kirby
keywords: Air traffic control; Electroencephalography; Reaction time