The Effects of Positive Acceleration on Cognitive Performance: Big G - Little Know

Abstract

Researchers have been studying the effects of acceleration on humans for over 50 years. In that time we have acquired much information about the effects of positive Gz on human physiology, and yet, we know very little about its effects on cognitive abilities. The purpose of the present paper is to underscore the need for additional research in this area. First, a description of the G environment is presented. This is followed by a brief review of some of the relevant literature on psychomotor performance and reaction time. The papers ends with a survey of topics that beg experimental attention using the information processing model as its guide.Today's pilots of high performance aircraft often find themselves in a unique and stressful environment. They are required to command and operate some of the most complex machines ever created and maneuver them through difficult and often hostile territory at tremendous speeds. Moreover, they must do this while enduring periodic insult to the body in the form of unusually high G forces.such an environment requires extensive training. Much has been written about the cognitive demands posed by increasing levels of technology in the cockpit and the skills needed to execute missions without incident. And yet, virtually nothing is known about how G stress affects the pilot's cognitive abilities.

An experimental study of field dependency in altered Gz environments

“…For instance, little is known regarding interaction effects between extreme environments' physical stressors and human cognitive abilities [31]. Even less is known regarding interaction effects between field dependency independency as a perceptual style and ±Gz accelerations as an extreme environment physical stressor [29,39]. Acknowledging these gaps in our understanding of this dynamic interdependence of variables and integrating lines of empirical research in cognitive psychology and human physiology, the experimental study reported here investigates how performance varies between field dependent and field independent groups under conditions of alternating ±Gz accelerations.…”