Office of Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-73/17
Title and Subtitle: Effects of secobarbital and d-amphetamine on tracking performance during angular acceleration
Report Date: December 1973
Authors: Schroeder DJ, Collins WE, Elam GW
Abstract: Thirty young men were randomly assigned in equal numbers to one of the following groups: placebo (lactose), secobarbital (100 mg), or d-amphetamine (10 mg). The drugs or placebo were administered in capsules in a double-blind procedure. Tests were scheduled 1, 2, and 4 hours after capsule ingestion; all tests were conducted inside a Stille-Werner rotator and were in total darkness with the exception of the illuminated tracking display. During angular acceleration, secobarbital subjects made significantly more tracking errors and had significantly more vestibular nystagmus than both the control and the d-amphetamine groups for all post-drug sessions.
These findings agree with previous studies of alcohol effects: depressant drugs may have little or no deleterious influence on tracking performance in static environments, but may produce marked performance degradation during angular motion.
Key Words: Drugs, Performance, Nystagmus, Angular Acceleration, Vestibular, Stress (Physiology)
No. of Pages: 8
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-73/17
Title and Subtitle: Effects of secobarbital and d-amphetamine on tracking performance during angular acceleration
Report Date: December 1973
Authors: Schroeder DJ, Collins WE, Elam GW
Abstract: Thirty young men were randomly assigned in equal numbers to one of the following groups: placebo (lactose), secobarbital (100 mg), or d-amphetamine (10 mg). The drugs or placebo were administered in capsules in a double-blind procedure. Tests were scheduled 1, 2, and 4 hours after capsule ingestion; all tests were conducted inside a Stille-Werner rotator and were in total darkness with the exception of the illuminated tracking display. During angular acceleration, secobarbital subjects made significantly more tracking errors and had significantly more vestibular nystagmus than both the control and the d-amphetamine groups for all post-drug sessions.
These findings agree with previous studies of alcohol effects: depressant drugs may have little or no deleterious influence on tracking performance in static environments, but may produce marked performance degradation during angular motion.
Key Words: Drugs, Performance, Nystagmus, Angular Acceleration, Vestibular, Stress (Physiology)
No. of Pages: 8
Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012