Effect of intense 24-hour shift work on reliability of operators’ activity

Psychophysiological characteristics of the effect of 24-hour shift work on the psychophysiological indices of an operator??s performance have been considered. It was found that significant fatigue is developed in servicemen working as operators as a result of daily shift-work. A hypothesis has been proposed on several compensatory mechanisms maintaining the working capacity in operators during long-term shift work. Informative psychophysiological characteristics that can be used as reliable indicators of the fatigue level have been distinguished. An integrated index of the reliability of operators?? activity has been developed, allowing the estimation of the performance using a wide range of intensities of the presented signals, as well as obtaining data on the overall possibilities of an operator to process information at the given level of reliability.     

Psychophysiological Characteristics of Nuclear Power Station Operator Activity as a Factor in Accident Rate

Methods of psychological, physiological, and psychophysiological testing were used to assess the intensity of the activity of operators of the power unit control panel of the Khmel'nitskaya nuclear power station. The operators during whose duty serious control errors and preaccident situations were noted were examined. The psychological and psychophysiological characteristics of these operators were shown to differ in that their reactive anxiety was increased and their well-being, activity, and mood scores, as well as the functional reserves of the cardiovascular system and mental and physical working capacity, were decreased. These parameters were considered as criteria in the development of operating measures. It was proposed that not only technological factors but also operators' psychophysiological characteristics in the dynamics of their manifestation be taken into account for elaborating measures of optimal staff selection and placement.     

Predicting the success of vocational training of operators in the training centers on the basis of psychophysiological and personality criteria

Psychophysiological criteria to predict success of mastering of the profession of operator and to determine a group of professional fitness are described in the work. A system of ranging of psychophysiological indices of operators is developed.     

Physiological and psychophysiological indices dynamics in operators with three-shift working day in different working conditions

It was shown that intense operator work in pulp and paper industry (bleachers and chlorinators) with changes in shift time (day, evening, night) causes fatigue. The fatigue in operators was indicated by increasing number of errors in sensomotor coordination test and coordination index, and among chlorinators it was accompanied by deterioration of state of health. Manifestations of 24 hours' rhythm of physiological functions were detected by changes in body temperature (among bleachers), heart rate, blood pressure and sensomotor coordination indices (all operators). Harmful chemical substances (chlorine and chlorine dioxide) in the air negatively influence psychophysiological status among clorinators.     

Psychophysiological monitoring under conditions of real and simulated microgravity.

Dynamics of indices characterizing the process of adaptation of operators to complicated conditions of vital activity was studied with psychophysiological monitoring. This technique is based on the complex analysis of subjective and objective estimations of the current psychoemotional state and physiological and biochemical indices. We analyzed the data obtained during the examination of three healthy volunteers, who participated in the HUBES experiment (135-day isolation in the ground-based model of the orbital station "Mir"), and during a biorhythmological study conducted by six Russian cosmonauts of the main expeditions on the station "Mir." It was shown that psychophysiological monitoring is an informative method for studying different parameters of the operator's state and regulatory processes, the dynamics of biological rhythms, and individual characteristics of adaptation. By means of the analysis of a population of the variation in the characteristics of the parameters under study the experimental period of isolation was divided into three stages. The first and third stages were characterized by a relatively high variability, which was minimized at the second stage. The phasic character of the adaptation processes with a phase duration of about 60 days was revealed and a correlation was shown between the dynamics of parameters obtained by means of psychophysiological monitoring and specific features of the system regulation in different phases of the space flight and its simulation. It is suggested that the phases of the minimal variability of the studied characteristics are related to the periods of the minimal reliability of an operator's work. [Translated from Fiziologiya Cheloveka, vol. 25, no. 5, 1999 Sep-Oct, p. 86-91]     

Effect of intensive 24-hour shift work on reliability of operators' activity

Psychophysiological peculiarities of the effect of 24-hour shift work on psychophysiological indices of an operator's efficiency have been considered. It is found that significant manifestations of the fatigue have been developed in servicemen-operators as a result of daily shift-work. The informative psychophysiological characteristics, which can be used as reliable indicators of fatigue level, have been distinguished. A hypothesis has been proposed on the availability of several compensatory mechanisms in maintenance of the work capacity in operators in long-term shift work. An integral index of the reliability of operators' activity has been developed, allowing to assess the quality of work, using a wide range of intensities of the proposed signals as well as to receive data on the overall possibilities of an operator to process information at the given level of reliability.     

Noninvasive Transcranial Electrostimulation of the Brain Endophrinergic Structures: Effects on Human Fatigue and Related Psychophysiological Indices

A randomized single-blind passive placebo-controlled study using a set of seven subjective and objective psychophysiological tests that evaluated the background state and changes in 26 psychophysiological indices (including the physical, cognitive, and affective components of fatigue) showed that transcranial electrostimulation (TES) of endorphinergic structures of the human brain facilitates the normalization of most indices. The positive effects of TES were more pronounced in subjects with strong negative shifts of the initial indices, which suggests a homeostatic character of the effects of activation of the brain endorphin-mediated mechanisms. Special attention was paid to the use of an analog scale for rapid evaluation of fatigue whose validity, reliability, and applicability were proved experimentally by the method of correlation matrices.     

Effect of alternating G loads on the activities of a human operator wearing a protective helmet

Specific types of operator activity make it necessary to wear a helmet protecting the head against various physical factors. Wearing a heavy helmet for a long time may affect the quality of operator activity when the operator is exposed to alternating G loads. Studies have been performed using a dynamic model of a vehicle subjected to considerable alternating G loads. Crash test dummies have been used to test a system protecting the cervical region of the spinal column. The effects of accelerations, vibrations, and the time of wearing helmets with different weights on the functional state and operator performance have been studied. Data on the effects of helmet weight on some physiological, psychological, and biomechanical reactions of human operators are reported. Some relationships have been found that have practical implications for the functional improvement of the operator component of vehicle operation.     

Systemic analysis: Individual typological characteristics of the human body

Statistical analysis of the distribution of the mean somatometric, functional, and psychophysiological parameters in the total sample of subjects with the use of the χ² and λ tests and low, medium, and high habitual physical activity (HPA) levels (LHPA, MHPA, and HHPA, respectively) at different ontogenetic stages (junior and senior school students and young adults of both sexes) showed wide quantitative and qualitative ranges of psychophysiological individuality in a healthy population and demonstrated that it is reasonable to distinguish three typological groups or functional constitutional types (FT-1 corresponding to LHPA; FT-2, to MHPA; and FT-3, to HHPA). Typical first- and second-order parameters, as well as the results of third-order tests characterizing the current state, were determined for each FT. In order to comprehensively assess the constitutional type (synthetic constitution) of the subjects with low, medium, and high HPAs, the integrated analysis of the set of their characteristics was performed using the principles of polythetic (multi-variate) classification. The results obtained using multivariate statistical methods confirmed the basic postulate of the concept of typological variability of physiological individuality that a healthy human population is qualitatively heterogeneous in morphological, functional, and psychophysiological traits. The integrated physiological and statistical analyses of the results provided a scientific basis for three functional constitutional types (FT-1, FT-2, and FT-3) corresponding to three synthetic constitutional types (C 0-1, C 00, and C 01). These data indicate that the systemic (constitutional) approach to the estimation of individual typological characteristics confirm a high informativeness of partial constitution (FT-1, FT-2, and FT-3) in the human biological organization, and the set of characters selected for analysis allows the synthetic constitutional types to be adequately differentiated on a formal basis.     

The physiological indices of emotional reactions in the clinical picture of local brain lesions

The psychophysiological correlates of recognition and reproduction of emotional states were studied in patients with differently localized lesions of the brain cortex. It was shown that the effect of different lesions are anisotropic. The cross and reciprocal interaction between the posteriofrontal and temporal regions of the left and right hemispheres was described. A relation was revealed between the emotion sign and different autonomic indices. A quantitative estimation of physiological reactions of healthy persons and patients with focal brain pathology was carried out.     

Psychophysiological Parameters of the Functional State in Adolescents at Different Stages of Puberty under Intense Informational Loading

A study of the psychophysiological reactivity of boys aged 13–14 years during mental performance at optimal and maximum rates showed that informational loading caused marked functional strain. The physiological cost of working at a comfortable rate was lower than at the maximum rate. Excessive psychophysiological reactivity was observed at the initial stages of puberty during intense mental loading. Such reactivity was responsible for a high physiological cost of adaptation and low functional capabilities of adolescents at puberty stages (PSs) II and III. Moreover, personality traits that contribute to mental strain were expressed to a greater extent in these adolescents. Comparisons indicated a tendency towards higher emotional stability and lower anxiety and frustration for the transition from PS II to PS IV. Excessive psychophysiological reactivity during intense mental work and a high psychophysiological cost of activity in adolescents at PSs II and III may decrease working efficiency, worsen the efficiency of learning, and cause adverse deviations in the state of health. This circumstance should be taken into account during elaboration of effective prophylactic measures aimed at optimizing the functional state of schoolchildren in puberty.     

Behavioural and Psychophysiological Correlates of Athletic Performance: A Test of the Multi-Action Plan Model

The main purposes of the present study were to substantiate the existence of the four types of performance categories (i.e., optimal-automatic, optimal-controlled, suboptimal-controlled, and suboptimal-automatic) as hypothesised in the multi-action plan (MAP) model, and to investigate whether some specific affective, behavioural, psychophysiological, and postural trends may typify each type of performance. A 20-year-old athlete of the Italian shooting team, and a 46-year-old athlete of the Italian dart-throwing team participated in the study. Athletes were asked to identify the core components of the action and then to execute a large number of shots/flights. A 2 × 2 (optimal/suboptimal × automated/controlled) within subjects multivariate analysis of variance was performed to test the differences among the four types of performance. Findings provided preliminary evidence of psychophysiological and postural differences among four performance categories as conceptualized within the MAP model. Monitoring the entire spectrum of psychophysiological and behavioural features related to the different types of performance is important to develop and implement biofeedback and neurofeedback techniques aimed at helping athletes to identify individual zones of optimal functioning and to enhance their performance.     

Investigating the effect of increasing robot group sizes on the human psychophysiological state in the context of human–swarm interaction

We study the psychophysiological state of humans when exposed to robot groups of varying sizes. In our experiments, 24 participants are exposed sequentially to groups of robots made up of 1, 3 and 24 robots. We measure both objective physiological metrics (skin conductance level and heart rate), and subjective self-reported metrics (from a psychological questionnaire). These measures allow us to analyse the psychophysiological state (stress, anxiety, happiness) of our participants. Our results show that the number of robots to which a human is exposed has a significant impact on the psychophysiological state of the human and that higher numbers of robots provoke a stronger response.     

The method for studying of the "magnetic vacuum" effect on color memory in humans

The method for studying the effects of weak magnetic fields and "magnetic vacuum" on the psychophysiological state of a human organism is proposed. This method includes the system of the exposure of a human organism to uniform constant and alternating magnetic fields and the system of computerized psychological tests. The influence of the weakening of constant magnetic field on the psychophysiological state of human organisms was studied. The short-term color memory and reaction rates of 30 subjects have been examined in the local geomagnetic field and in a magnetic field which was reduced in 10 and more times. Statistically significant differences in the color memory test was found in the magnetic field 4 +/- 1 microT in comparison with the results in the geomagnetic field. In the magnetic field 0 +/- 1 microT, slight impairment of color memory was found. Preliminary results in the test of reaction rates showed the tendency to slowing down the reaction rates in the weakened magnetic fields.     

Electrodermal and cardiovascular manifestations of emotions in children

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current state of developmental researches in the area of psychophysiology of emotions in preschool and elementary school children. Electrodermal and cardiovascular activity measures are considered as the sources of indices of the autonomic nervous system activation during emotion-eliciting stimulation in children. We discuss the question of sensitivity of phasic and tonic autonomic measures for the identification of occurrence of emotion, mapping it along with valence and arousal dimensions in affective space, and to further differentiate emotions by their physiological manifestations. Considered are the conceptual and methodological issues related to psychophysiological measurements and developmental factors affecting the emotional reactivity in children. Special attention is devoted to the developmental aspects of psychophysiological studies on emotion such as the maturation of organs, integration of the autonomic and central nervous systems, age and gender-related changes in autonomic reactivity, and development of inhibitory control. Summarized are main findings relevant to psychophysiology of emotions in preschool and early school-age children and suggested are most perspective directions of their integration in the framework of modern theories of emotion.     

The EEG spatial pattern and psychophysiological characteristics of divergent and convergent thinking in humans

The psychophysiological parameters of the spatial synchronization of bioelectric potentials during the nonverbal divergent, nonverbal convergent, verbal divergent and verbal convergent thinking have been analyzed. The relationships between the performances of tests for these thinking styles were different. The strongest significant correlation has been found between the productivities of the verbal divergent and verbal convergent thinking styles; the weakest correlation, between those of the nonverbal divergent and nonverbal convergent thinking styles. The thinking styles differ from one another in the topography of spatial synchronization of bioelectric potentials. They are the most pronounced during the two nonverbal tasks and the least pronounced during the two verbal tasks. The thinking styles also differ from one another in the degree of the enhancement of the coherence between bioelectric potentials during tasks compared to the baseline (with the eyes open). Some human psychophysiological characteristics facilitating the performance of divergent (creative) tasks have a negative effect on the performance of convergent (noncreative) tasks. The data are discussed in terms of the differences in the level of general activation and involvement of different types of information processing (simultaneous and successive).     

Age-related Features of Circadian Dynamics of Velocity of Reaction to Visual Stimuli in 8- to 14-Year-Old Boys

Studying individual circadian psychophysiological rhythms in children and adolescents, the authors showed that different rhythmological indices, such as fluctuation amplitude, mean level, and rhythm phase, change with age in different manners. Changes in one or more of these indices reflect a complex stagewise process of the formation of functions in human ontogeny. Additionally, a mismatch between individual and social (school load) rhythms may result in desynchronosis.     

Features of spatial organization of EEG and psychophysiological characteristics of the person with the divergent and convergent types of thinking

The psychophysiological indicators of spatial synchronization of biopotential at different types of mental processes in humans: non verbal-divergent, nonverbal-convergent, verbal-divergent and verbal-convergent were analyzed. The unequal relationship between the productivity of the implementation of tests on these types of thinking was revealed. The closest significant correlation exists between the productivity of the verbal-divergent and verbal-convergent thinking, and the lowest--between the productivity of nonverbally-divergent and nonverbally-convergent thinking. The differences in the topographical maps of the spatial synchronization of biopotential at different types of thinking was marked. They are most pronounced in the implementation of two non-verbal tasks, minimal--in two verbal tasks. Differences between different types of thinking are also manifested in the degree of coherence gain biopotential of the performance tests in comparison with the background (open eyes). Some physiological properties of the person that contribute to the divergent (creative) tests have a negative impact on the implementation of converged (tedious) tests. The findings are discussed in terms of differences in the level of general activation and participation of different ways of processing information (simultaneous and successiveness).     

Peculiarities of the Heart Rate Control during Competitive Entrance Examinations

A study was made of the dynamics of psychophysiological parameters and the activities of the systems regulating the heart rate in prospective post-secondary students taking competitive entrance examinations. The responses of the regulatory systems to examination stress were of two types, sympathetic and parasympathetic, depending on the initial state of the autonomic nervous system and the psychophysiological personality traits.     

Changes in the color sensitivity of operators during modelling of different forms of emotional stress

The dynamics is considered of absolute changes of differential color sensibility of operators at modelling of different psychophysiological states with the original method of the work at teletraining in combination with the complex of distracting factors. A possibility is suggested of diagnostics of operator's different psychophysiological states by absolute changes of differential color sensibility.