Effects of Hypoxia on Selected Psychophysiological Stress Responses of Military Aircrew

There is a lack of information on the psychophysiological response of pilots under hypoxic conditions. The study of the physiological, psychological, cardiorespiratory, neurological, behavioural, sensory, and cognitive symptoms that may appear during training in hypobaric chambers is essential to op...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Bustamante Sánchez, Álvaro, Gil Cabrera, Jaime, Tornero Aguilera, José Francisco, Fernández Lucas, Jesús, Ramos Campo, Domingo Jesús, Clemente Suárez, Vicente Javier
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2021
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Europea (UEM)
Repositório:ABACUS. Repositorio de Producción Científica
Idioma:inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:abacus.universidadeuropea.com:11268/12068
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/11268/12068
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Hipoxia
Estrés fisiológico
Enfermedad profesional
Psicofisiología
Descrição
Resumo:There is a lack of information on the psychophysiological response of pilots under hypoxic conditions. The study of the physiological, psychological, cardiorespiratory, neurological, behavioural, sensory, and cognitive symptoms that may appear during training in hypobaric chambers is essential to optimize the training processes of aircrew members. Thus, the present study is aimed at analyzing the psychophysiological responses of aircrew members in an incremental hypoxia training protocol. Psychophysiological responses of 44 aircrew members (34 males and 10 females) in an incremental hypoxia training protocol (3 minutes at 0 meters, 8 minutes at 5,000 meters, and maximum time at 7500 meters) were measured. Results suggested that the incremental hypoxia training protocol did not affect cortical arousal and handgrip strength; however, it increased the sympathetic tone, perceived stress, perceived effort, and heart rate and decreased forced expiratory volume and blood oxygen saturation. Thus, we concluded that acute hypoxic hypobaric exposure leads to decreased parasympathetic tone, blood oxygen saturation, and maximal spirometry values, without negatively affecting handgrip strength and cortical arousal. This information will lead to find specific training systems that meet the real needs of aircrew.