Cognitive Workload and Psychophysiological Parameters During Multitask Activity in Helicopter Pilots

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Helicopter pilots are involved in a complex multitask activity, implying overuse of cognitive resources, which may result in piloting task impairment or in decision-making failure. Studies usually investigate this phenomenon in well-controlled, poorly ecological situations by focusing on the correlation between physiological values and either cognitive workload or emotional state. This study aimed at jointly exploring workload induced by a realistic simulated helicopter flight mission and emotional state, as well as physiological markers.METHOD: The experiment took place in the helicopter full flight dynamic simulator. Six participants had to fly on two missions. Workload level, skin conductance, RMS-EMG, and emotional state were assessed.RESULTS: Joint analysis of psychological and physiological parameters associated with workload estimation revealed particular dynamics in each of three profiles. 1) Expert pilots showed a slight increase of measured physiological parameters associated with the increase in difficulty level. Workload estimates never reached the highest level and the emotional state for this profile only referred to positive emotions with low emotional intensity. 2) Non-Expert pilots showed increasing physiological values as the perceived workload increased. However, their emotional state referred to either positive or negative emotions, with a greater variability in emotional intensity. 3) Intermediate pilots were similar to Expert pilots regarding emotional states and similar to Non-Expert pilots regarding physiological patterns.DISCUSSION: Overall, high interindividual variability of these results highlight the complex link between physiological and psychological parameters with workload, and question whether physiology alone could predict a pilot's inability to make the right decision at the right time.Gaetan S, Dousset E, Marqueste T, Bringoux L, Bourdin C, Vercher J-L, Besson P. Cognitive workload and psychophysiological parameters during multitask activity in helicopter pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2015; 86(12):1052–1057.

Cardiovascular correlates of emotional state, cognitive workload and time-on-task effect during a realistic flight simulation

“…For instance, regarding the measures of the central nervous system, electroencephalography (EEG) has been widely used to assess cognitive overload and to discriminate specific psychological processes involved in multi-task resolution with different purposes (Puma et al, 2018;Stikic et al, 2014). Another application, but using peripheral measures, is found in Gaetan et al (2015). The authors have studied the physiological markers referring to distinct levels of workload in helicopter pilots by using electromyography and skin conductance, although definitive conclusions could not be drawn due to large individual differences.…”

Effects of Workload in Novice Military Transport Flights on Autonomic Modulation and Cognitive Performance: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study

“…Pilots deal with extremely specific activities, which demands precise control over complex systems and involves distinct levels of operation and interconnected tasks (25,26,29). The workload perception is recognized to influence fatigue, attention, and decision-making ability during flights in civil and military aviation (12,23,26).…”

Conscientiousness in Pilots Correlates with Electrodermal Stability: Study on Simulated Flights under Social Stress

“…Their results show that the more trained group showed not only better performance but also that they were less sensitive to stress as measured by the electrodermal activity. However, some works dealing with the physiological assessment of cognitive workload via SCR found an evident influence of inter-individual characteristics on the reliability of this feature [24,25]. Hence, these individual aspects are worthy of study.…”