Neurocognitive and Physiological Factors During High-Tempo Operations

This well-written report is for the serious student interested in soldier performance. It describes today's unique challenges faced by the military as well as factors common to all conflicts. Research using advance neuroscience tools is presented along with implications for selection, training and insuring optimal performance. It is a superb compilation of today's neuroscience and tomorrow's solutions. Ronald R. Blanck, Former US Army Surgeon General and Commander, US Army Medical Command

This book brings the fruits of four decades of basic neuroscience research on how the brain adapts to stress into the real world of military operations. The evidence collected here makes clear that methods are now at hand to determine who is vulnerable to such stresses and what pharmacology may some day be able to do for them. A "must read" for strategists. Floyd E. Bloom, The Scripps Research Institute, USA

Kornguth, Steinberg and Matthews have assembled a stellar group of cutting-edge scientists who address a spectrum of crucial neuro-cognitive and physiological issues involved in human performance in extreme conditions. Ranging from the very forefront of theoretical neuroscience to the practical experiences of current military veterans, this work provides critical insights for all who seek to understand the multiple dimensions of human capacities when faced with exceptionally demanding and emergency situations. Not only for the professional researcher or field commander, this text can serve to inform and direct the understanding of students, administrators, representatives and the wider public on our current state of scientific understanding in this vital area of human response capacity. Peter A. Hancock, University of Central Florida, USA

This book 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.

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 decisionmakers to act at peak ability during high-tempo operations. Additionally, the applications resulting extend well into the civilian sector, for example to law-enforcement officers, healthcare professionals and emergency responders.

This 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 cqncise brain imagery and physiological findings to support its conclusions. The book synthesizes hard facts with real-life accounts of performing under stress and shows how an institution like the US Army can measure and improve human factors considerations for its members.

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.