Diagnostic Methods for Predicting Performance Impairment Associated with Combat Stress; Final rept. 1 Dec 2003-31 Jul 2007

摘要

This report reviews the third year of research on the diagnostic utility of psychophysiological indict that may predict the current and future functional efficiency of the soldier. The research focuses especially on the measurement of cerebral bloodflow velocity (CBFV) using transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) together with additional indices including salivary cortisol and subjective state. Two studies at the University of Cincinnati demonstrated that CBFV declines during cognitive vigilance and during simulated driving extending prior results from sensory vigilance tasks. In addition phasBloodflow responses to a short task battery predicted cognitive vigilance. Predictive validity was increased by including subjective state measures in a multivariate model. Research at Georgia State University employing simulated military tasks representing sentry duty peacekeeping operations and tactical decision making. These studies confirmed that CBFV correlates with various performance indices indicating that the technique may have diagnostic utility not just for vigilance but also military decision-making. Attentional skills and eye movement indices were also found to have diagnostic utility. The report concludes with a summary of the main findings from the three years of research and recommendations for future studies to translate the research into applied techniques for diagnostic monitoring and prediction in military environments.