EFFECTS OF ATROPINE ON HUMAN PURSUIT TRACKING PERFORMANCE

  • 1 July 1986
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 57  (7) , 654-658
Abstract
Intramuscular injections of 2 and 4 mg .cntdot. 70 kg-1 atropine sulfate were administered to 10 male volunteers. Volunteers performed a pursuit tracking task under two light conditions (daytime and dusk/dawn) at 30 and 150 min after injection. The tracking task consisted of a laboratory-constructed viscous-damped optical simulator of the US Army''s Ground Laser Locator Designator sytsem. A scale model Warsaw Pact T-62 tank moved at a constant velocity at a simulated distance of 1 km. Doses of 4 mg .cntdot. 70 kg-1 of atropine significantly degraded tracking performance at 150 min after injection in daylight and at both 30 and 150 min after injection in dim light. Doses of 2 mg .cntdot. 70 kg-1 did not degrade performance significantly. The present results suggest that atropine will produce tactically significant performance degradations for up to 3 h after administration.

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