PORTABLE HUMAN ASSESSMENT BATTERY (PHAB)

IN RESEARCH INVOLVING THE EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES ON HUMANS IT IS ESSENTIAL TO DETECT CHANGES TO THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE EARLY STAGES BEFORE IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED. IT IS PROPOSED THAT RESEARCH BE CONDUCTED TO IDENTIFY AN OPTIMUM SET OF PERFORMANCE TESTS WHICH ARE SENSITIVE TO SUBTLE CHANGES IN HUMAN CAPABILITIES. THE PRESENT RESEARCH PLAN IS TO IDENTIFY A SUBSET OF MEASURES FROM THOSE SHOWN TO HAVE GOOD METRIC QUALITIES IN THE PETER PROGRAM WHICH MAY ALSO BE EXPECTED TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES. THESE MEASURES WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED ON A PORTABLE LAP-SIZED MICROPROCESSOR. A PILOT STUDY WOULD BE CONDUCTED, USING BENIGN BUT PROVOCATIVE STIMULUS TO VALIDATE THE SENSITIVITY OF THE MEASURES AND TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE APPROACH. THE TESTS WHICH PASSED ALL SUITABILITY ANALYSES WOULD CONSTITUTE THE PRELIMINARY BATTERY. PHASE II WOULD INVOLVE THE COMPLETION OF THE BATTERY, INCLUDING EXAMINING VARIABLES WHICH IMPACT ON TEST EFFICIENCY, DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TESTS, AND CONDUCTING LARGE SCALE FACTOR ANALYTIC AND VALIDITY TESTS.