Bukoski Alex, Uhlich Rindi, Tucker Johnny, Cooper Chris, Barnes Steve
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, 900 East Campus Drive, Columbia, MO 65211.
Division of Acute Care Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO 65212.
Mil Med. 2016 May;181(5 Suppl):169-76. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00145.
Changes in electrodermal activity (EDA) correlate with arousal and stress during stimulating experiences. We hypothesized that associations exist between short-term performance gains and changes in EDA. A total of 187 combat medics were randomly assigned to simulation (S), live tissue (L), or video (V) based training in the recognition and treatment of nerve agent casualties. Change in EDA from baseline to training was quantified for tonic and phasic responses and was categorized as positive (>+10%), no change (±10%), or negative (<-10%). Cognitive and psychomotor skills assessments were applied before and after the baseline/training period to quantify short-term performance changes. Statistically significant differences in both EDA arousal measures between training modalities (p < 0.001 with L > S ∼ V) were observed. Notably, larger proportions of trainees experienced negative changes in tonic (67%) and phasic (21%) EDA measures in the V group when compared to the L and S groups. Regardless of training modality, negative tonic and phasic EDA responses were associated with lower psychomotor performance gains and this finding approached statistical significance (tonic: p = 0.056, phasic: p = 0.08). No significant differences were noted in pre- to post-training cognitive performance between EDA response categories. As quantified by EDA response to training, reduced arousal was associated with lower short-term psychomotor, but not cognitive, performance gains.
在刺激性体验过程中，皮肤电活动（EDA）的变化与唤醒和压力相关。我们假设短期表现提升与EDA变化之间存在关联。共有187名战斗医护人员被随机分配到基于模拟（S）、活体组织（L）或视频（V）的神经毒剂伤亡识别与治疗培训中。从基线到训练阶段的EDA变化通过紧张性和相位性反应进行量化，并分为正向（>+10%）、无变化（±10%）或负向（<-10%）。在基线/训练期前后进行认知和心理运动技能评估，以量化短期表现变化。观察到不同训练方式之间在两种EDA唤醒测量指标上存在统计学显著差异（L > S ∼ V，p < 0.001）。值得注意的是，与L组和S组相比，V组中更大比例的受训者在紧张性（67%）和相位性（21%）EDA测量指标上出现了负向变化。无论训练方式如何，紧张性和相位性EDA负向反应都与较低的心理运动表现提升相关，这一发现接近统计学显著性（紧张性：p = 0.056，相位性：p = 0.08）。在EDA反应类别之间，训练前到训练后的认知表现没有显著差异。通过对训练的EDA反应量化，唤醒降低与较低的短期心理运动表现提升相关，但与认知表现提升无关。
