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Cited by 49Vestibular and auditory disordersHuman-Automation Interaction and SafetySpaceflight effects on biology

Cognitive Impairment by Spatial Disorientation

Gresty, Michael Andrew, Golding, John Foster, Le, Huy, Nightingale, Kelly·2008·Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
DOI 10.3357/asem.2143.2008
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Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Maintaining spatial orientation is a biological imperative. When orientation is threatened, attention resources are diverted to regaining orientation, possibly to the detriment of attention required by concurrent tasks. Hence, a factor in aviation mishaps may be the negative impact of disorientation on concurrent performance, such as interpreting instruments. We examined how subjects learn to manage the impact of acute disorienting stimuli on concurrent spatial cognitive tasks. METHODS: Subjects performed the Manikin (MAN) and Choice Reaction Time (CRT) tests under three disorienting experiments: i) after self-controlled head rolls, N = 16; ii) during rotation of the background field of view, N = 12; and iii) after head movements provoking Coriolis during body rotation in yaw, N = 6. RESULTS: Number correct and reaction times on the MAN task were negatively affected by each type of disorientation only when the task was performed in the presence of disorienting motion presented early in the experimental session. Later in the session, subjects learned to attain best performance levels irrespective of disorientation. Performance on the CRT task, which has good stimulus response compatibility with little high order processing, was unaffected. The slight symptoms of malaise provoked by disorientation did not interfere with performance in experiments (i) and (ii) but more severe symptoms in (iii) correlated with loss of performance. CONCLUSION: Our studies suggest that the ability to maintain a high level of cognitive performance is susceptible to impairment when novel circumstances of disorientation are encountered. Extensive practice on particular tasks protects against encounters with novel disorientation. Once disorientation is identified, its potential impact on multitasking may be quarantined despite disorientation symptoms. The results indicate the need for over-training on tasks and experience with a wide variety of disorientation scenarios.

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  • During severe motion sickness, many manual performance and cognitive tasks are substantially impaired, but simple detection tasks such as the perceptual vigilance task seem relatively unaffected.

    “During severe motion sickness, although many manual performance and cognitive tasks are substantially impaired (Gresty et al. 2008; Gresty and Golding 2009), simple detection tasks such as the perceptual vigilance task (PVT) seem relatively unaffected (Kaplan et al. 2014).”

    From Motion sickness: more than nausea and vomiting (2014) · cites this paper as Gresty et al. 2008

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Authors
Gresty, M. A., Golding, J. F., Le, H., & Nightingale, K.
Affiliations
Charing Cross Hospital (GB)
ORCID
Golding, John Foster
Venue
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
Publisher
Aerospace Medical Association
Published
2008-02-01
Volume
79
Issue
2
Pages
105-111
ISSN
  • 0001-9402 (ISSN-L)
  • 0095-6562
DOI
10.3357/asem.2143.2008
OpenAlex
W2008208070
Cited by
49
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 4
FWCI
1.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Vestibular and auditory disorders
  • Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Human-Automation Interaction and Safety
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Spaceflight effects on biology
Keywords
spatial disorientation, cognitive impairment, spatial orientation, dual-task performance, multitasking, head rotation, background rotation, choice reaction time, aviation safety
MeSH terms
Adult, Aerospace Medicine, Cognition, Coriolis Force, Female, Humans, Male, Motion Sickness, Orientation, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Spatial Behavior, Task Performance and Analysis

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