Use of EEG Workload Indices for Diagnostic Monitoring of Vigilance Decrement

    Authors

    A. T. Kamzanova; A. M. Kustubayeva;G. Matthews

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Hum. Factors

    Keywords

    attentional processes; vigilance (sustained attention); monitoring; supervisory control; mental workload; SUSTAINED ATTENTION; TASK ENGAGEMENT; BIOCYBERNETIC SYSTEM; MENTAL; WORKLOAD; PERFORMANCE; STRESS; AUTOMATION; SIGNAL; ALPHA; SENSITIVITY; Behavioral Sciences; Engineering, Industrial; Ergonomics; Psychology, ; Applied; Psychology

    Abstract

    Objective: A study was run to test which of five electroencephalographic (EEG) indices was most diagnostic of loss of vigilance at two levels of workload. Background: EEG indices of alertness include conventional spectral power measures as well as indices combining measures from multiple frequency bands, such as the Task Load Index (TLI) and the Engagement Index (EI). However, it is unclear which indices are optimal for early detection of loss of vigilance. Method: Ninety-two participants were assigned to one of two experimental conditions, cued (lower workload) and uncued (higher workload), and then performed a 40-min visual vigilance task. Performance on this task is believed to be limited by attentional resource availability. EEG was recorded continuously. Performance, subjective state, and workload were also assessed. Results: The task showed a vigilance decrement in performance; cuing improved performance and reduced subjective workload. Lower-frequency alpha (8 to 10.9 Hz) and TLI were most sensitive to the task parameters. The magnitude of temporal change was larger for lower-frequency alpha. Surprisingly, higher TLI was associated with superior performance. Frontal theta and EI were influenced by task workload only in the final period of work. Correlational data also suggested that the indices are distinct from one another. Conclusions: Lower-frequency alpha appears to be the optimal index for monitoring vigilance on the task used here, but further work is needed to test how diagnosticity of EEG indices varies with task demands. Application: Lower-frequency alpha may be used to diagnose loss of operator alertness on tasks requiring vigilance.

    Journal Title

    Human Factors

    Volume

    56

    Issue/Number

    6

    Publication Date

    1-1-2014

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    1136

    Last Page

    1149

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000340827100009

    ISSN

    0018-7208

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