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Principal Investigator:
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Stephen M. Kosslyn, Ph.D.
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Organization:
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Harvard University
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Project Ended:
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2007
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Human exploration of space is a high-risk, high-stress endeavor, so human error must be guarded against at every juncture. Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn and colleagues are testing a portable system, MiniCog, which assesses nine different cognitive functions intended to provide an early warning alert to indicate when an astronaut is suffering from stress-related deficits, such as fatigue, that may affect performance. Users can be warned to pay additional attention and take extra care, take a break, consume food or caffeine, or even take a nap. In this continuation project, MiniCogs developers will add the ability for the user to enter estimates of predicted performance before taking a test that can be compared with actual performance. In addition, MiniCog will undergo a number of validation studies in conjunction with other NSBRI-funded research projects.
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Principal Investigator:
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Stephen M. Kosslyn, Ph.D.
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|
Organization:
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Harvard University
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Project Ended:
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2007
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Astronauts work in a dangerous and noisy environment and have extraordinarily compressed work schedules. They are isolated from friends and family for long periods of time. Thus, they may be fatigued, depressed, or anxious. Such stressors conspire to make individual performance, and that of the team as a whole, particularly vulnerable to cognitive decrements. It is crucial to assess cognitive ability at regular intervals while astronauts work.
We have implemented a portable system, the MiniCog Rapid Assessment Battery (MRAB), which assesses nine different cognitive functions. This system is intended to provide an "early warning alert" indicating when an astronaut or worker is suffering from stress-related deficits, such as fatigue, that may affect performance. One strength of our system is that the assessment is quick. The information can be used by the astronauts or workers themselves, either alone or as part of a team, or by a supervisor. In all cases, users can be warned to pay additional attention and take extra care, or to take a break, consume food or caffeine, or even take a nap.
In this phase of our research, we proposed two major goals:
First, to extend the MiniCog system by
- programming the software to run on additional operating systems;
- allowing users to predict their performance before and after taking a test (but before seeing their scores, which would be compared with their predictions);
- adding wireless relay capability; and
- including an additional initial screening test. Second, we planned validation studies of the MRAB tests, in collaboration with NSBRI Team members Drs. David Dinges, Philip Lieberman and Judith Orasanu.
In our own lab, we planned to conduct three kinds of studies:
- correlating scores on MRAB with scores on assessment batteries currently used by NASA;
- examining the effects on cognitive performance of four factors (anxiety, noise, circadian rhythm, and time-pressure); and
- examining the mitigating effects of three potential countermeasures (a pre-learned short relaxation procedure, vigorous exercise, and caffeine).
We now have a beta version of the MiniCog software for Windows PDAs. Both the Windows and Palm versions ask users to evaluate their own performance after they have completed a test, but prior to seeing their scores. The tasks have also been scripted for administration with commercial and free off-the-shelf experiment/presentation software such as E-Prime and PsyScope, and we implemented an online version of the tasks with beta software being developed for other projects in the lab.
A completed study suggests that MRAB can detect selective effects of stress and sleep loss on specific cognitive abilities. Error rates (ERs) on the four MRAB tasks that are sensitive to variations in attention (vigilance, filtering, divided attention, and perceptual motor reaction time) were negatively correlated (in a range of -.36 to -.50, p<=.01) with the amount of sleep participants received the previous night. Furthermore, response times (RTs) on the same four tasks were positively correlated (in a range of .35 to .41, p<=.01) with participants reported stress levels.
A second study of stress and MRAB performance was initiated but relatively few participants were tested due to lack of funds. Our initial testing protocol was not as successful at inducing high levels of anxiety as we had hoped.
However, we were successful at leveraging our resources and introducing MRAB as an individual differences measure in a number of protocols. For instance, we discovered that the production of different types of lies (about the self versus another person or generated spontaneously versus from a rehearsed scenario) was predicted by distinct sets of MRAB scores, suggesting that deception is a complex process with the production of different kinds of lies depending on different cognitive processes. In a study of the cognitive styles of engineers versus humanities professionals, we administered the MRAB tests in conjunction with several other surveys and questionnaires and found significantly different score profiles across the different professions.
There has been sufficient interest in the task battery that we have distributed with the software to a number of independent researchers, and we are collaborating with another lab to refine the battery for use in deception-detection research.
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Principal Investigator:
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Stephen M. Kosslyn, Ph.D.
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|
Organization:
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Harvard University
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Project Ended:
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2007
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The three general applications of this assessment toolbox have Earth benefits as well as space benefits.
First, the toolbox provides a practical means for assessing the effects of various stressors such as fatigue, mood, noise, drug use, or diet on cognitive processing. We not only expect some of those variables to have a significant impact on astronauts but also expect them to affect people on Earth such as pilots, MDs, shiftworkers and others.
Second, the tasks can be used to assess the effectiveness of countermeasures, such as training or drugs to manage fatigue, which may be as useful to workers on Earth as to astronauts in space.
Finally, the tasks could be used by people "on the job" (e.g. truck drivers) to inform themselves about the current state of their cognitive processes. For example, when truck drivers weigh in after many hours of travel, they can run through the battery of tests and make sure that they are still mentally alert. Depending on their scores, they may want to rest before going back on the road, eat a meal or drink coffee, or engage in other activities to reduce the danger of driving.
Other researchers will be able to use our test battery to assess cognitive performance quickly and under a variety of laboratory and field conditions. They may also use the MiniCog platform to develop their own psychological tests or experiments. Both our test battery and the MiniCog application have an advantage over standard task batteries and many typical psychological scripting programs in that the tests are brief and the method of administration is compact, portable and relatively inexpensive. This could make the MiniCog and MRAB practical in a wide range of settings where there are questions of neurocognitive capability. The MRAB may also turn out to be a useful individual differences assessment tool, helpful in predicting performance on different types of professional tasks even in non-stressful situations.
Information about Minicog
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