Cardiovascular state changes in simulated work environments

The usefulness of cardiovascular measures as indicators of changes in cognitive workload has been addressed in several studies. In this paper the question is explored whether cardiovascular patterns in heart rate, blood pressure, baroreflex sensitivity and HRV that are found are consistent within and between two simulated working environments. Two studies, were performed, both with 21 participants: one in an ambulance dispatch simulation and one in a driving simulator. In the ambulance dispatcher task an initial strong increase in blood pressure is followed by a moderate on-going increase in blood pressure during the next hour of task performance. This pattern is accompanied by a strong increase in baroreflex sensitivity while heart rate decreases. In the driving simulator study, blood pressure initially increases but decreases almost to baseline level in the next hour. This pattern is accompanied by a decrease in baroreflex sensitivity, while heart rate decreases. Results of both studies are interpreted in terms of autonomic control (related to both sympathetic and para-sympathetic effects), using a simplified simulation of a baroreflex regulation model. Interpretation of the results leads to the conclusion that the cardiovascular response patterns in both tasks are a combination of an initial defensive reaction, in combination with compensatory blood pressure control. The level of compensatory blood pressure control, however, is quite different for the two tasks. This helps to understand the differences in response patterns between the two studies in this paper and may be helpful as well for understanding differences in cardiovascular response patterns in general. A substantial part of the effects observed during task performance are regulatory effects and are not always directly related to workload manipulations. Making this distinction may also contribute to the understanding of differences in cardiovascular response patterns during cognitive workload.