Can Helmet Weight Affect Cognitive Performance and Mental Workload? An Experimental Study

This study sought to examine the effect of helmet weight on cognitive performance and mental workload. Twenty participants were studied in three one-hour sessions. The participants were asked to read and work with computer under three conditions: while wearing no helmets, while wearing a helmet that weighed 800 g (A), and while wearing a helmet weighing 1500 g (B). “N-back” task and Continuous Performance Test (CPT) were employed to assess cognitive performance, while NASA-TLX and Thermal Comfort and Fatigue Perception Scale were used to evaluate mental work load and comfort. At the end of the intervention sessions, perceived mental workload as well as thermal comfort and fatigue in the head were measured. Moreover, the participants’ cognitive performance was gauged before and after the sessions. The findings revealed that helmet weight had a significant impact on cognitive performance (p<0.001). Nonetheless, no significant difference was detected in the participants’ mental workload before and after the intervention. It was thus argued that helmet weight could affect cognitive performance.Therefore, in designing helmets, the weight of the helmet should be considered as an important factor.

The Effect of Noise Exposure on Cognitive Performance and Brain Activity Patterns

Background: It seems qualitative measurements of subjective reactions are not appropriate indicators to assess the effect of noise on cognitive performance. In this study, quantitative and combined indicators were applied to study the effect of noise on cognitive performance. Materials and Methods: A total of 54 young subjects were included in this experimental study. The participants’ mental work load and attention were evaluated under different levels of noise exposure including, background noise, 75, 85 and 95 dBA noise levels. The study subject’s EEG signals were recorded for 10 minutes while they were performing the IVA test. The EEG signals were used to estimate the relative power of their brain frequency bands. Results: Results revealed that mental work load and visual/auditory attention is significantly reduced when the participants are exposed to noise at 95 dBA level (P<0.05). Results also showed that with the rise in noise levels, the relative power of the Alpha band increases while the relative power of the Beta band decreases as compared to background noise. The most prominent change in the relative power of the Alpha and Beta bands occurs in the occipital and frontal regions of the brain respectively. Conclusions: The application of new indicators including brain signal analysis and power spectral density analysis is strongly recommended in the assessment of cognitive performance during noise exposure. Further studies are suggested regarding the effects of other psychoacoustic parameters such as tonality, noise pitch (treble or bass) at extended exposure levels.

ANALISIS BEBAN KERJA MENTAL PADA OPERATOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (ATC) DENGAN METODE SUBJEKTIF DAN OBJEKTIF (STUDI KASUS : AIRNAV BANDAR UDARA XYZ)

An Air Traffic Controller (ATC) operator is required to always concentrate on monitoring navigation, radiation as well as supervising and implementing aircraft guidance. Obviously such work can lead to a mental workload on the worker. Based on these problems, it is necessary to do a research on the analysis of mental workload on the operator ATC at XYZ Airport. Measurement of mental workload can be done in two ways: subjective measurement and objective measurement. Subjective measurements of the mental workload can be done with NASA-TLX method. While the objective measurement can be done by doing the measurement physiologically such as through the heart rate. The results showed that the metal workload of ATY operator of XYZ Airport was in high category and very high base on subjective measurement. Performance level is the dominant factor causing high mental work load perceived by ATC operator. While based on the objective measurement found that the mental workload of ATC operators are in the medium category.