Elsevier

Physiology & Behavior

Volume 238, 1 September 2021, 113483
Physiology & Behavior

Psychophysiological response of military pilots in different combat flight maneuvers in a flight simulator

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113483Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Takeoff, landing, air-air attack and air-ground attack maneuvers lead to significant changes in the electroencephalographic activity and autonomic modulation of professional pilots.

  • Beta EEG power spectrum modifications suggest that landing maneuvers induced more attentional resources than takeoff.

  • Reduced HRV during landing was observed when compared to takeoff.

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the psychophysiological response during takeoff, landing, air-air attack and air-ground attack maneuvers. Methods: A total of 11 expert pilots (age=33.36 (5.37)) from the Spanish Air Force participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants had to complete in a flight simulator the following missions: 1) takeoff; 2) Air-air attack; 3) Air-Ground attack, and 4) Landing. The electroencephalographic activity (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) were collected during all these maneuvers. Results: Significant higher values of theta (during takeoff, air-air attack and air-ground attack) EEG power spectrum were obtained when compared to baseline. Significant difference in the P3 scalp location was observed between landing and takeoff maneuvers in the beta EEG power spectrum. Furthermore, significant lower values of HRV were obtained during takeoff, landing, air-air attack and air-ground attack when compared to baseline values. Also, landing showed a higher sympathetic response when compared to takeoff maneuver. Conclusion: Takeoff, landing, air-air attack or air-ground attack maneuvers performed in a flight simulator produced significant changes in the electroencephalographic activity and autonomic modulation of professional pilots. Beta EEG power spectrum modifications suggest that landing maneuvers induced more attentional resources than takeoff. In the same line, a reduced HRV during landing was obtained when compared to takeoff. These results should be considered to training purposes.

Introduction

Pilots has to process a large source of information during flights, for this reason the evaluation of mental workload has been a cornerstone in this field [45]. Previous studies indicated the dynamic and complex cognitive demands of this operations [15, 49]. Due to the multifactorial nature of flight, different psychophysiological methods have been used in aviation to evaluate the workload of pilots [1, 48].

The electroencephalography (EEG) has been previously used to evaluate the cognitive demands of flight [50]. Previous studies were focused on EEG power spectrum, since changes in theta power spectrum (4–7 Hz) were observed when pilots required higher levels of mental effort [2, 29, 31, 33, 34]. Previous studies have found that alpha power spectrum (8–12 Hz) was decreased during arithmetic tasks [33] and increased in prefrontal and parietal cortical areas during creative thinking task [35]. Furthermore, beta power spectrum (13–30 Hz) is an indicator of behavioral arousal and attentional process [32].

The heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive instrument based on the analysis of successive heartbeats variation over an interval of time [44], which evaluates the autonomic nervous system balance. When the HRV is reduced, the sympathetic activation predominates, indicating a reduced regulatory capacity to adapt to challenges such as exercise or stressors [40]. Thus, the HRV could be a biomarker of behavior flexibility or cognitive load [3, 4, 25]. In this line, previous studies in military population [8] and specially in pilots reported an increase in the sympathetic activity during flights [20, 22], as well as an increased cortical arousal [12].

The use of simulators in aviation has been proposed as the most economical way of training pilots, providing an excellent environment to cope with situations which are difficult to reproduce during real conditions [26] and, therefore, an excellent transfer tool between training conditions and real aircraft [15]. In addition, the use of flight simulators reduces the risk of catastrophic errors. Previous studies investigated the psychophysiological demands of different basic civil aviation maneuvers in a flight simulator, showing that takeoff and landing are ones of the most stressful maneuvers [10, 15]. These results provide relevant information for training purposes. However, to the best of our knowledge there are no studies which examine the impact of a different military maneuvers in the psychophysiological response of pilots. Therefore, the aim of the study was to analyze the psychophysiological response of professional pilots in takeoff, landing, air-air mission and air-ground mission conducted in a flight simulator.

Section snippets

Participants

Eleven professional military pilots (age=33.36 (5.37)) with a mean military service of 13.45 (5.35) years from the Spanish Air Force participated in this cross-sectional study (see Table 1). Procedures were approved by the University research ethics committee and participants gave written informed consent to be included in the study (approval number: 206/219).

Procedure

EEG and HRV response were assessed before and during the following maneuvers: 1) the takeoff; 2) Air-air mission with two set-ups; 3)

EEG and hrv comparisons during baseline, takeoff and landing maneuvers

Figs. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 shown the topographic maps of the comparisons between baseline, takeoff and landing maneuvers.

Fig. 1 shows the comparison for the theta EEG power spectrum. Significant differences (p-value < 0.05) were found between baseline and takeoff conditions in F8 scalp location. Differences were not found between baseline vs. landing neither landing vs takeoff maneuvers (p-value > 0.05).

Fig. 2 shown the comparison for the alpha EEG power spectrum between baseline, takeoff and

Discussion

The present study aimed to analyze the psychophysiological response of professional pilots during takeoff, landing, air-air mission and air-ground maneuvers in a flight simulator. Results showed significant higher values of theta power spectrum during the takeoff when compared to baseline. Moreover, higher values of beta power spectrum during the landing maneuvers was found in P3 electrode when compared to the takeoff. Furthermore, higher values of theta power spectrum were found during both

Conclusions

Takeoff, landing, air-air attack, or air-ground attack maneuvers performed in a flight simulator produced significant changes in the electroencephalographic activity and autonomic modulation of professional pilots. Beta EEG power spectrum modifications suggest that landing and air-ground maneuvers induced more attentional resources than takeoff and air-air attack respectively. In the same line, a reduced HRV during landing was obtained when compared to takeoff. These results should be

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

This study has been made thanks to the contribution of the Spanish Air Force (Ministry of defence) as well as the Department of Economy and Infrastructure of the Junta de Extremadura through the European Regional Development Fund. A way to make Europe. (GR18129). Also, the author SV was supported by a grant from the regional department of economy and infrastructure of the Government of Extremadura and the European Social Fund (PD16008).

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