Lieberman Harris R, Bathalon Gaston P, Falco Christina M, Morgan Charles A, Niro Philip J, Tharion William J
Military Nutrition Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA 01760-5007, USA.
Aviat Space Environ Med. 2005 Jul;76(7 Suppl):C7-14.
Anecdotal reports from military conflicts suggest cognitive performance and mood are severely degraded by the stress of combat. However, little objective information is available to confirm these observations.
Our laboratory had several unique opportunities to study cognitive function in warfighters engaged in exercises designed to simulate the stress of combat. These studies were conducted in different environments with two different types of military volunteers. In one study, subjects were officers, with an average 9 yr of military service, who were members of an elite U.S. Army unit, the Rangers. In the other study, participants were younger, mostly enlisted, trainees with only 3 yr of military experience on average, in training to determine if they would qualify for an elite U.S. Navy unit, the SEALS. We administered a variety of identical, computer-based cognitive tests to both groups.
In both groups, during stressful combat-like training, every aspect of cognitive function assessed was severely degraded compared with baseline, pre-stress performance. Relatively simple cognitive functions such as reaction time and vigilance were significantly impaired, as were more complex functions, including memory and logical reasoning.
The deficits observed were greater than those typically produced by alcohol intoxication, treatment with sedating drugs, or clinical hypoglycemia. Undoubtedly, such decrements would severely degrade operational effectiveness. Furthermore, it is likely such cognitive decrements would be greater during actual combat. War planners, doctrine developers, and warfighters, especially leaders, need to be aware that combat stress will result in extensive and severe deficits in cognitive performance.
来自军事冲突的轶事报告表明，战斗压力会严重损害认知能力和情绪。然而，几乎没有客观信息可证实这些观察结果。
我们的实验室有几次独特的机会，对参与模拟战斗压力演习的作战人员的认知功能进行研究。这些研究在不同环境中，针对两类不同的军事志愿者开展。在一项研究中，受试者是平均服役9年的军官，他们是美国陆军精锐部队游骑兵的成员。在另一项研究中，参与者较为年轻，大多是应征入伍的新兵，平均只有3年军事经验，他们正在接受训练，以确定是否有资格加入美国海军精锐部队海豹突击队。我们对两组人员都进行了各种相同的基于计算机的认知测试。
在两组中，与压力前的基线表现相比，在类似战斗的压力训练期间，所评估的认知功能的各个方面均严重退化。相对简单的认知功能，如反应时间和警觉性，以及更复杂的功能，包括记忆和逻辑推理，都受到了显著损害。
观察到的认知缺陷大于通常由酒精中毒､使用镇静药物治疗或临床低血糖所导致的缺陷。毫无疑问，这种认知能力下降会严重降低作战效能。此外，在实际战斗中，这种认知能力下降可能会更大。战争规划者､军事学说制定者和作战人员，尤其是领导者，需要意识到战斗压力会导致认知表现出现广泛而严重的缺陷。
