The STEP model: Characterizing simultaneous time effects on practice for flight simulator performance among middle-aged and older pilots.

Understanding the possible effects of the number of practice sessions (practice) and time between practice sessions (interval) among middle-aged and older adults in real-world tasks has important implications for skill maintenance. Prior training and cognitive ability may impact practice and interval effects on real-world tasks. In this study, we took advantage of existing practice data from 5 simulated flights among 263 middle-aged and older pilots with varying levels of flight expertise (defined by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration proficiency ratings). We developed a new Simultaneous Time Effects on Practice (STEP) model: (a) to model the simultaneous effects of practice and interval on performance of the 5 flights, and (b) to examine the effects of selected covariates (i.e., age, flight expertise, and 3 composite measures of cognitive ability). The STEP model demonstrated consistent positive practice effects, negative interval effects, and predicted covariate effects. Age negatively moderated the beneficial effects of practice. Additionally, cognitive processing speed and intraindividual variability (IIV) in processing speed moderated the benefits of practice and/or the negative influence of interval for particular flight performance measures. Expertise did not interact with practice or interval. Results indicated that practice and interval effects occur in simulated flight tasks. However, processing speed and IIV may influence these effects, even among high-functioning adults. Results have implications for the design and assessment of training interventions targeted at middle-aged and older adults for complex real-world tasks.

Helicopter pilot scan techniques during low-altitude high-speed flight.

INTRODUCTION: This study examined pilots' visual scan patterns during a simulated high-speed, low-level flight and how their scan rates related to flight performance. As helicopters become faster and more agile, pilots are expected to navigate at low altitudes while traveling at high speeds. A pilot's ability to interpret information from a combination of visual sources determines not only mission success, but also aircraft and crew survival. METHODS: In a fixed-base helicopter simulator modeled after the U.S. Navy's MH-60S, 17 active-duty Navy helicopter pilots with varying total flight times flew and navigated through a simulated southern Californian desert course. Pilots' scan rate and fixation locations were monitored using an eye-tracking system while they flew through the course. Flight parameters, including altitude, were recorded using the simulator's recording system. RESULTS: Experienced pilots with more than 1000 total flight hours better maintained a constant altitude (mean altitude deviation = 48.52 ft, SD = 31.78) than less experienced pilots (mean altitude deviation = 73.03 ft, SD = 10.61) and differed in some aspects of their visual scans. They spent more time looking at the instrument display and less time looking out the window (OTW) than less experienced pilots. Looking OTW was associated with less consistency in maintaining altitude. DISCUSSION: Results may aid training effectiveness specific to helicopter aviation, particularly in high-speed low-level flight conditions.

Pilot perception and confidence of location during a simulated helicopter navigation task.

INTRODUCTION: This paper aims to provide insights into human perception, navigation performance, and confidence in helicopter overland navigation. Helicopter overland navigation is a challenging mission area because it is a complex cognitive task, and failing to recognize when the aircraft is off-course can lead to operational failures and mishaps. METHODS: A human-in-the-loop experiment to investigate pilot perception during simulated overland navigation by analyzing actual navigation trajectory, pilots' perceived location, and corresponding confidence levels was designed. There were 15 military officers with prior overland navigation experience who completed 4 simulated low-level navigation routes, 2 of which entailed auto-navigation. This route was paused roughly every 30 s for the subject to mark their perceived location on the map and their confidence level using a customized program. RESULTS: Analysis shows that there is no correlation between perceived and actual location of the aircraft, nor between confidence level and actual location. There is, however, some evidence that there is a correlation (rho = -0.60 to approximately 0.65) between perceived location and intended route of flight, suggesting that there is a bias toward believing one is on the intended flight route. DISCUSSION: If aviation personnel can proactively identify the circumstances in which usual misperceptions occur in navigation, they may reduce mission failure and accident rate. Fleet squadrons and instructional commands can benefit from this study to improve operations that require low-level flight while also improving crew resource management.

Pilot performance: assessing how scan patterns & navigational assessments vary by flight expertise.

INTRODUCTION: Helicopter overland navigation is a cognitively complex task that requires continuous monitoring of system and environmental parameters and many hours of training to master. This study investigated the effect of expertise on pilots' gaze measurements, navigation accuracy, and subjective assessment of their navigation accuracy in overland navigation on easy and difficult routes. METHODS: A simulated overland task was completed by 12 military officers who ranged in flight experience as measured by total flight hours (TFH). They first studied a map of a route that included both easy and difficult route sections, and then had to 'fly' this simulated route in a fixed-base helicopter simulator. They also completed pre-task estimations and post-task assessments of the navigational difficulty of the transit to each waypoint in the route. Their scan pattern was tracked via eye tracking systems, which captured both the subject's out-the-window (OTW) and topographical map scan data. RESULTS: TFH was not associated with navigation accuracy or root mean square (RMS) error for any route section. For the easy routes, experts spent less time scanning out the window (p = 0.61) and had shorter OTW dwell (p = -0.66). For the difficult routes, experts appeared to slow down their scan by spending as much time scanning out the window as the novices while also having fewer Map fixations (p = -0.65) and shorter OTW dwell (p = -0.69). However, TFH was not significantly correlated with more accurate estimates of route difficulty. DISCUSSION: This study found that TFH did not predict navigation accuracy or subjective assessment, but was correlated with some gaze parameters.

Intraindividual variability in basic reaction time predicts middle-aged and older pilots' flight simulator performance.

OBJECTIVES: Intraindividual variability (IIV) is negatively associated with cognitive test performance and is positively associated with age and some neurological disorders. We aimed to extend these findings to a real-world task, flight simulator performance. We hypothesized that IIV predicts poorer initial flight performance and increased rate of decline in performance among middle-aged and older pilots. METHOD: Two-hundred and thirty-six pilots (40-69 years) completed annual assessments comprising a cognitive battery and two 75-min simulated flights in a flight simulator. Basic and complex IIV composite variables were created from measures of basic reaction time and shifting and divided attention tasks. Flight simulator performance was characterized by an overall summary score and scores on communication, emergencies, approach, and traffic avoidance components. RESULTS: Although basic IIV did not predict rate of decline in flight performance, it had a negative association with initial performance for most flight measures. After taking into account processing speed, basic IIV explained an additional 8%-12% of the negative age effect on initial flight performance. DISCUSSION: IIV plays an important role in real-world tasks and is another aspect of cognition that underlies age-related differences in cognitive performance.

Identifying and addressing the limitations of safety climate surveys.

INTRODUCTION: There are a variety of qualitative and quantitative tools for measuring safety climate. However, questionnaires are by far the most commonly used methodology. METHOD: This paper reports the descriptive analysis of a large sample of safety climate survey data (n=110,014) collected over 10 years from U.S. Naval aircrew using the Command Safety Assessment Survey (CSAS). RESULTS: The analysis demonstrated that there was substantial non-random response bias associated with the data (the reverse worded items had a unique pattern of responses, there was a increasing tendency over time to only provide a modal response, the responses to the same item towards the beginning and end of the questionnaire did not correlate as highly as might be expected, and the faster the questionnaire was completed the higher the frequency of modal responses). It is suggested that the non-random responses bias was due to the negative effect on participant motivation of a number of factors (questionnaire design, lack of a belief in the importance of the response, participant fatigue, and questionnaire administration). CONCLUSIONS: Researchers must consider the factors that increase the likelihood of non-random measurement error in safety climate survey data and cease to rely on data that are solely collected using a long and complex questionnaire. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: In the absence of valid and reliable data it will not be possible for organizations to take the measures required to improve safety climate.

Training simulation for helicopter navigation by characterizing visual scan patterns.

INTRODUCTION: Helicopter overland navigation is a cognitively complex task that requires continuous monitoring of system and environment parameters and years of training. This study investigated potential improvements to training simulation by analyzing the influences of flight expertise on visual scan patterns. METHODS: There were 12 military officers who varied in flight expertise as defined by total flight hours who participated in overland navigation tasks. Their gaze parameters were tracked via two eye tracking systems while subjects were looking at out-the-window (OTW) and topographic Map views in a fixed based helicopter simulator. RESULTS: Flight performance measures were not predicted by the expertise level of pilots. However, gaze parameters and scan management skills were predicted by the expertise level. For every additional 1000 flight hours, on average, the model predicted the median dwell will decrease 28 ms and the number of view changes will increase 33 times. However, more experienced pilots scanned more OTW than novice pilots, which was contrary to our expectation. A visualization tool (FEST: Flight and Eye Scan visualization Tool) to replay navigation tasks and corresponding gaze data was developed. Qualitative analysis from FEST revealed visual scan patterns of expert pilots not only looking ahead on the map, but also revisiting areas on the map they just flew over to retain confidence in their orientation. DISCUSSION: Based on the analysis provided above, this work demonstrates that neurophysiological markers, such as eye movements, can be used to indicate the aspects of a trainee's cognitive state that are useful for cuing an instructional system.

Lack of Association Between COMT Polymorphisms and Apathy in Alzheimer's Disease.

We tested the hypothesis that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) are associated with apathy in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We analyzed a cohort of 105 Caucasian individuals with AD (age = 79.3 ± 7.03 years; MMSE = 20.2 ± 4.4) according to the presence of apathy, as defined either by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory or the Apathy Inventory. Polymorphisms in seventeen SNPs in COMT were examined. A replication cohort consisting of 176 Caucasian AD subjects in the ADNI database was also analyzed. None of the candidate gene SNPs were significantly associated with the presence of apathy in either cohort. We did not find any SNPs in COMT that were consistently associated with apathy in individuals with AD.

Influences of APOE ε4 and expertise on performance of older pilots.

Little is known about how APOE ε4-related differences in cognitive performance translate to real-life performance, where training and experience may help to sustain performance. We investigated the influences of APOE ε4 status, expertise (FAA pilot proficiency ratings), and their interaction on longitudinal flight simulator performance. Over a 2-year period, 139 pilots aged 42-69 years were tested annually. APOE ε4 carriers had lower memory performance than noncarriers (p = .019). APOE interacted with Expertise (p = .036), such that the beneficial influence of expertise (p = .013) on longitudinal flight simulator performance was more pronounced for ε4 carriers. Results suggest that relevant training and activity may help sustain middle-aged and older adults' real-world performance, especially among APOE ε4 carriers.

Initial cognitive performance predicts longitudinal aviator performance.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of the study was to improve prediction of longitudinal flight simulator performance by studying cognitive factors that may moderate the influence of chronological age. METHOD: We examined age-related change in aviation performance in aircraft pilots in relation to baseline cognitive ability measures and aviation expertise. Participants were aircraft pilots (N = 276) aged 40-77.9. Flight simulator performance and cognition were tested yearly; there were an average of 4.3 (± 2.7; range 1-13) data points per participant. Each participant was classified into one of the three levels of aviation expertise based on Federal Aviation Administration pilot proficiency ratings: least, moderate, or high expertise. RESULTS: Addition of measures of cognitive processing speed and executive function to a model of age-related change in aviation performance significantly improved the model. Processing speed and executive function performance interacted such that the slowest rate of decline in flight simulator performance was found in aviators with the highest scores on tests of these abilities. Expertise was beneficial to pilots across the age range studied; however, expertise did not show evidence of reducing the effect of age. DISCUSSION: These data suggest that longitudinal performance on an important real-world activity can be predicted by initial assessment of relevant cognitive abilities.

Age and expertise effects in aviation decision making and flight control in a flight simulator.

INTRODUCTION: Age (due to declines in cognitive abilities necessary for navigation) and level of aviation expertise are two factors that may affect aviation performance and decision making under adverse weather conditions. We examined the roles of age, expertise, and their relationship on aviation decision making and flight control performance during a flight simulator task. METHODS: Seventy-two IFR-rated general aviators, aged 19-79 yr, made multiple approach, holding pattern entry, and landing decisions while navigating under Instrument Flight Rules weather conditions. Over three trials in which the fog level varied, subjects decided whether or not to land the aircraft. They also completed two holding pattern entries. Subjects' flight control during approaches and holding patterns was measured. RESULTS: Older pilots (41+ yr) were more likely than younger pilots to land when visibility was inadequate (older pilots' mean false alarm rate: 0.44 vs 0.25). They also showed less precise flight control for components of the approach, performing 0.16 SD below mean approach scores. Expertise attenuated an age-related decline in flight control during holding patterns: older IFR/CFI performed 0.73 SD below mean score; younger IFR/CFI, younger CFII/ATP, older CFII/ATP: 0.32, 0.26, 0.03 SD above mean score. Additionally, pilots with faster processing speed (by median split) had a higher mean landing decision false alarm rate (0.42 vs 0.28), yet performed 0.14 SD above the mean approach control score. CONCLUSIONS: Results have implications regarding specialized training for older pilots and for understanding processes involved in older adults' real world decision making and performance.

The impact of brain size on pilot performance varies with aviation training and years of education.

Previous studies have consistently reported age-related changes in cognitive abilities and brain structure. Previous studies also suggest compensatory roles for specialized training, skill, and years of education in the age-related decline of cognitive function. The Stanford/VA Aviation Study examines the influence of specialized training and skill level (expertise) on age-related changes in cognition and brain structure. This preliminary report examines the effect of aviation expertise, years of education, age, and brain size on flight simulator performance in pilots aged 45-68 years. Fifty-one pilots were studied with structural magnetic resonance imaging, flight simulator, and processing speed tasks. There were significant main effects of age (p < .01) and expertise (p < .01), but not of whole brain size (p > .1) or education (p > .1), on flight simulator performance. However, even though age and brain size were correlated (r = -0.41), age differences in flight simulator performance were not explained by brain size. Both aviation expertise and education were involved in an interaction with brain size in predicting flight simulator performance (p < .05). These results point to the importance of examining measures of expertise and their interactions to assess age-related cognitive changes.

The impact of autobiographic writing on memory performance in older adults: a preliminary investigation.

In this pilot study, the authors examined whether participation in a structured autobiographic writing workshop positively influenced memory performance in a group of community-dwelling older adults. Eighteen subjects, aged 62-84 years, were enrolled in an eight-week writing workshop. At baseline and follow up, they completed five memory assessments and submitted two writing samples, which were evaluated for linguistic complexity. The authors found a significant increase in follow-up scores on tests of verbal memory and attention, indicating a possible positive influence of the writing workshop. The authors also found a decline in idea density, suggesting that more research is needed to better understand how interpretation of the language assessment tool may be affected by improvements in writing.

Pilot age and expertise predict flight simulator performance: a 3-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Expert knowledge may compensate for age-related declines in basic cognitive and sensory-motor abilities in some skill domains. We investigated the influence of age and aviation expertise (indexed by Federal Aviation Administration pilot ratings) on longitudinal flight simulator performance. METHODS: Over a 3-year period, 118 general aviation pilots aged 40 to 69 years were tested annually, in which their flight performance was scored in terms of 1) executing air-traffic controller communications; 2) traffic avoidance; 3) scanning cockpit instruments; 4) executing an approach to landing; and 5) a flight summary score. RESULTS: More expert pilots had better flight summary scores at baseline and showed less decline over time. Secondary analyses revealed that expertise effects were most evident in the accuracy of executing aviation communications, the measure on which performance declined most sharply over time. Regarding age, even though older pilots initially performed worse than younger pilots, over time older pilots showed less decline in flight summary scores than younger pilots. Secondary analyses revealed that the oldest pilots did well over time because their traffic avoidance performance improved more vs younger pilots. CONCLUSIONS: These longitudinal findings support previous cross-sectional studies in aviation as well as non-aviation domains, which demonstrated the advantageous effect of prior experience and specialized expertise on older adults' skilled cognitive performances.

The role of motivation in the age-related positivity effect in autobiographical memory.

This study reveals that older adults have a positivity effect in long-term autobiographical memory and that a positivity bias can be induced in younger adults by a heightened motivation to regulate current emotional well-being. Three hundred nuns, ages 47 to 102 years, recalled personal information originally reported 14 years earlier. They did so under experimental conditions that repeatedly primed them to focus on their current emotional states or on their memory accuracy, or that provided no instructional focus (control condition). Both older control participants and participants who were focused on emotional states showed a tendency to remember the past more positively than they originally reported in 1987. In contrast, both younger control participants and participants who were focused on accuracy tended to remember the past more negatively than originally reported.