Office of Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-76/12
Title and Subtitle: Some effects of sleep deprivation on tracking performance in static and dynamic environments
Report Date: October 1976
Authors: Collins WE
Abstract: The influence of approximately 34 and 55 h of sleep deprivation on performance scores derived from manually tracking the localizer needle on an aircraft instrument was assessed under both static (no motion) and dynamic (whole-body angular acceleration) laboratory conditions. In each of two experiments, 20 young men were equally divided into groups of control and sleep-deprived subjects.
All tests were conducted in an enclosed Stille-Werner rotator in total darkness with the exception of the illuminated tracking display. In both experiments, significant decrements in dynamic tracking performance were uniformly obtained after 24 h and more of sleep loss. Static tracking scores were also impaired but less consistently so. In Experiment II, administration of d-amphetamine after 53 h of sleep loss produced a sharp drop in error for both static and dynamic tracking.
Although performance at both types of tasks remained poorer for sleep-deprived subjects, their static tracking scores did not differ significantly from control subjects 2 h after drug ingestion.
Key Words: Information processing(Psychology), Sleep loss and performance, Motor effects, Drug effects, Vestibular
No. of Pages: 12
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-76/12
Title and Subtitle: Some effects of sleep deprivation on tracking performance in static and dynamic environments
Report Date: October 1976
Authors: Collins WE
Abstract: The influence of approximately 34 and 55 h of sleep deprivation on performance scores derived from manually tracking the localizer needle on an aircraft instrument was assessed under both static (no motion) and dynamic (whole-body angular acceleration) laboratory conditions. In each of two experiments, 20 young men were equally divided into groups of control and sleep-deprived subjects.
All tests were conducted in an enclosed Stille-Werner rotator in total darkness with the exception of the illuminated tracking display. In both experiments, significant decrements in dynamic tracking performance were uniformly obtained after 24 h and more of sleep loss. Static tracking scores were also impaired but less consistently so. In Experiment II, administration of d-amphetamine after 53 h of sleep loss produced a sharp drop in error for both static and dynamic tracking.
Although performance at both types of tasks remained poorer for sleep-deprived subjects, their static tracking scores did not differ significantly from control subjects 2 h after drug ingestion.
Key Words: Information processing(Psychology), Sleep loss and performance, Motor effects, Drug effects, Vestibular
No. of Pages: 12
Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012