Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, 115 HHD Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Neuroscience Research Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 2;18(7):3741. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073741.
Electrophysiological research has previously investigated monotony and the cardiac health of drivers independently; however, few studies have explored the association between the two. As such the present study aimed to examine the impact of monotonous train driving (indicated by electroencephalogram (EEG) activity) on an individual's cardiac health as measured by heart rate variability (HRV). Sixty-three train drivers participated in the present study, and were required to complete a monotonous train driver simulator task. During this task, a 32 lead EEG and a three-lead electrocardiogram were recorded from each participant. In the present analysis, the low (LF) and high frequency (HF) HRV parameters were associated with delta ( < 0.05), beta ( = 0.03) and gamma ( < 0.001) frequency EEG variables. Further, total HRV was associated with gamma activity, while sympathovagal balance (i.e., LF:HF ratio) was best associated fronto-temporal delta activity ( = 0.02). HRV and EEG parameters appear to be coupled, with the parameters of the delta and gamma EEG frequency bands potentially being the most important to this coupling. These relationships provide insight into the impact of a monotonous task on the cardiac health of train drivers, and may also be indicative of strategies employed to combat fatigue or engage with the driving task.
先前的电生理学研究分别对驾驶员的单调和心脏健康进行了研究；然而，很少有研究探讨两者之间的关联。因此，本研究旨在探讨单调的火车驾驶（由脑电图（EEG）活动表示）对个体心脏健康的影响，心脏健康通过心率变异性（HRV）来衡量。63 名火车司机参与了本研究，并要求他们完成单调的火车司机模拟器任务。在此任务期间，从每位参与者记录 32 导联 EEG 和三导联心电图。在本分析中，低（LF）和高（HF）频带 HRV 参数与 delta（ < 0.05）、beta（ = 0.03）和 gamma（ < 0.001）频带 EEG 变量相关。此外，总 HRV 与 gamma 活动相关，而交感神经-迷走神经平衡（即 LF:HF 比值）与额颞 delta 活动相关性最佳（ = 0.02）。HRV 和 EEG 参数似乎是耦合的，delta 和 gamma EEG 频带的参数可能对这种耦合最重要。这些关系提供了对单调任务对火车司机心脏健康的影响的深入了解，并且还可能表明用于对抗疲劳或参与驾驶任务的策略。
