Effects of Two Common Medications on Complex Performance

摘要

The performance of 10 subjects was measured over 4-hour periods following the administration of normal clinical dosages of Donnatal (two sessions), chlorpheniramine maleate (one session) and a placebo (one session) in a double blind experiment. Prior to the experiment, the subjects had been given extensive training on the battery of tasks used. The subjects were tested as two 5-man crews on the tasks which were designed to assess psychological functions of the kind involved in aircraft operations; included were measures of monitoring, information processing, visual discrimination and 'crew coordination.' Although performance was in general 'numerically' inferior under the chlorpheniramine maleate condition, no effects were found that could be statistically attributed to the drugs administered. (Author)