ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC MONITORING OF COMPLEX MENTAL TASKS

THE GREATER MENTAL DEMANDS OF HUMAN OPERATORS, CREATED BY INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF MAN-MACHINE INTERACTIONS, UNDERLINES THE NEED TO DEVELOP RAPID AND NONINVASIVE METHODSOF MONITORING THE ABILITY OF THE HUMAN OPERATOR TO HANDLE INCREASINGLY LARGE AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION AND MAKE RAPID DECISIONS. SUCH METHODS WOULD ALLOW THE OPERATOR OR MONITORING PERSONNEL TO TAKE CORRECTIVE MEASURES UPON OBSERVED DECREMENTS IN OPERATOR PERFORMANCE, TO PREVENT ADVERSE EFFECTS ON TASK COMPLETION. CURRENT ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES SUGGEST THAT INCREASED TASK COMPLEXITY CAN BE CORRELATED TO CHANGES IN CERTAIN EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL (ERP) PARAMETERS. THE USE OF ERP TECHNIQUES IN FIELD OPERATION IS SEVERELY LIMITED BY THE INTRODUCTION OF MULTIPLE TRIAL RECORDING IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE RELIABILITY OF THE SIGNAL. PREVIOUS REPORTS BY OTHERS AND CURRENT WORK DONE IN OUR LABORATORY SUGGESTS THAT CHANGES IN ONGOING ELECTRO- AND RHEOENCEPHALOGRAPHIC SIGNALS CAN BE CORRELATED TO INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF A MENTAL TASK. IT IS PROPOSED TO STUDY THE CHANGES IN ONGOING ELECTRO- AND REHOENCEPHALOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS DURING MENTAL TASKS OF INCREASING COMPLEXITY WITH THOSE OF COGNITIVE AND MOTOR ERPS, IN ORDER TO DEFINE DISCRETE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC CHANGES PREDICTIVE OF INCREASING HUMAN MENTAL WORKLOAD.