Performance and Psychophysiological Measures of Fatigue Effects on Aviation Related Tasks of Varying Difficulty

This study investigates the interaction between fatigue and mental workload in aviation operations. Performance, psychophysiological, and subjective measures were collected during performance of three tasks of increasing complexity. A psychomotor vigilance task, multi-attribute task battery and an uninhabited air vehicle task were performed five times during one night's sleep loss. Electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram and pupil area were recorded during task performance. Findings showed decrements in performance decrements at the next to last and/or last testing session. The EEG showed concomitant changes. Although the results indicate that fatigue from moderate extended wakefulness generally impaired operator readiness, the degree of impairment was at least partially dependent on the outcome variable under investigation and the task to be performed.