Synopsis
Neurocognitive and Physiological Factors During High-Tempo Operations features world-renowned scientists conducting groundbreaking research into the basic mechanisms of stress effects on the human body and psyche, as well as introducing novel pharmaceutics and equipment that can rescue or improve maximal performance during stress. Its focus is on the military model as an exemplar for high-stress environments, the best for understanding human performance under stress, both in the short-term as well as in the long-term. The unprecedented demands on the modern soldier include constantly shifting enemy threat levels and tactics, ambiguous loyalties, rapidly evolving weaponry, and the need to amass, comprehend, retain, and act upon large datasets of information. During high-tempo operations, soldiers must maintain superior cognitive and physical skill levels throughout extended periods of little to no sleep. Furthermore, although a soldier fresh from training may perform at peak skill, the effects of cognitive and physical strain and sleeplessness during deployment can impair his or her ability to transfer instructional knowledge to complex real-life situations. It is necessary to understand how intense workloads, both mental and physical, combine with total sleep deprivation to alter soldier situation awareness, decision-making, and physical abilities. The resulting knowledge can be used to design rapid, deployable fitness-for-duty measures, alter training protocols, and assess training efficacy in order to enable decision-makers to act at peak ability during high operations tempo. In addition, dual-use applications of resulting knowledge and technology extend well into the civilian sector, to law-enforcement officers, healthcare professionals, and emergency responders. The book differs from many previous human factors publications by presenting state-of-the-art neuroscience data in a format that is comprehensible and informative for readers of diverse backgrounds. It not only details human behaviors and perception, but also provides concise brain imagery and physiological findings to support its conclusions. In addition, the incorporation of the US Army soldier model of extreme stress and extreme performance demands provides a real-life theme that anchors the scientific, organizational, assessment and response aspects of each chapter. This book synthesizes hard facts with real-life accounts of performing under stress and shows how a large oversight institution like the US Army can measure and improve human factors considerations for its members.
About the Author
Dr. Steve Kornguth is the Director of the Center for Strategic and Innovative Technologies and Biological and Chemical Defense, Institute for Advanced Technology at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also Professor in the Department of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin and Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Neurology and Biomolecular Chemistry at The University of Wisconsin at Madison. Additionally he is a member of the Army Science Board. Dr. Kornguth's research at Wisconsin related to neural development, autoimmune diseases and development of binding agents and platforms for sensors and magnetic resonance image contrast materials. His research efforts at Austin relate to sustaining high-tempo operations performance of soldiers and developing technologies for defense against biological threats. Dr. Kornguth has also established a team of researchers from UT Austin, Baylor College of Medicine, The US Military Academy, Army Research Laboratory/HRED, and the Iron Horse Brigade (1 BCT) First Brigade Combat Team of the First Cavalry Division, to investigate the physical and cognitive correlates of high-tempo operations activity. This research includes identifying the neurophysiological markers of attentiveness, monitoring brain activity during periods of high and low vigilance, and implementing novel protocols to improve performance in high-tempo environments. Dr. Rebecca Steinberg is Program Manager and Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Strategic and Innovative Technologies (CSIT) and the Institute for Advanced Technology (IAT) at the University of Texas at Austin. She oversees and contributes to a multidisciplinary multi-institutional study examining the effects of 36 hours' total sleep deprivation on cognition and physical performance of US military cadets, soldiers, and University of Texas undergraduates. Rebecca publishes a monthly newsletter detailing recent findings in the field of human performance, which can be found online at http://www.csit.utexas.edu/newsletter/newsletter.lasso. Rebecca received her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Austin, 2007, with a focus on neuroendocrinology and toxicology/pharmacology. Her dissertation research examined the effects of environmental pollutant exposure across multiple generations using hormone assays, immunocytochemistry, behavior, and gene expression arrays. Dr. Michael D. Matthews is currently Professor of Engineering Psychology at the United States Military Academy, where he serves as Director of the Engineering Psychology Program. He is a former Air Force officer with tours of duty at the US Air Force Human Resources Laboratory and as a faculty member at the US Air Force Academy. Dr. Matthews was selected as a Templeton Foundation Positive Psychology Fellow and much of his research focuses on applying Positive Psychology principles to military contexts. He is on the science advisory board for the Military Child Education Coalition, and served as President of the American Psychological Association's Division of Military Psychology from 2007 to 2008. Collectively, his research interests center on soldier performance in combat and other dangerous contexts.
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