EFFECTS OF 3 KINDS OF HYPOXIAS ON VIGILANCE PERFORMANCE

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 48  (6) , 491-496
Abstract
The consequences for vigilance performance of inhaling CO at altitude were examined. The effects of altitude and CO at an equivalent reduction in O2-carrying capacity were compared. Ten subjects performed a visual vigilance task under 4 atmospheric conditions. Physiological measures included heart rate, blood pressure and ventilation. Blood Hb and CO levels were measured directly from blood samples drawn after 0, 50 and 120 min of exposure. The physiological variables measured and subjective responses of subjects showed no changes attributable to the atmospheric conditions. A statistically significant change in vigilance performance, as measured by percentage of signals detected, was found between control and low O2, but performance under CO and the combination of CO and low O2 was not different from control. The lack of deterioration in performance under the combination of CO and low O2 suggested that the increased severity of the stress resulted in activation of compensatory mechanisms which counterbalanced the decreased O2 available to the tissues.

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