Funded Projects

Data from occupational and general public settings overwhelmingly indicate that conditions promoting physiological stress (e.g., fatigue, heat, cold, dehydration) increase the risk of physical injury and accidents. It is believed that this elevated risk is due to changes in mental and/or physical function. However, experimental testing has rarely captured the neurobehavioral changes proposed to potentiate the risk of physical injury and accidents under physiological stress. We hypothesize that this is because the available experimental tools are inappropriate for examining acute changes in neurobehavioral function. With this background, our project aims to refine neurobehavioral measurements for repeated measures study designs. The goal is to identify approaches that are sensitive to acute neurobehavioral changes occurring secondary to physiological stress. This will allow us to submit grant proposals aiming to explore the underlying mechanisms and potential countermeasures.