Human Performance Wing's Fatigue Research Targets the Brain

  • Published
  • By Elizabeth Long
  • 711th Human Performance Wing
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE --  Researchers from the Air Force Research Laboratory's 711th Human Performance Wing's Human Effectiveness Directorate, or 711 HPW/RH, and the Kettering Innovation Center are moving into a state-of-the-art phase of fatigue research that aims to shed light on identifying people who are fatigue resistant and those who are not.

In the latest study, researchers conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging on Air Force personnel to determine if they could identify a different pattern of brain activity in the people who are better able to stay awake versus those who have trouble staying awake. In order to build up the database of test subjects, the Kettering Innovation Center is going to conduct MRIs on rested individuals and on sleep deprived individuals.

"So by the time the whole project is finished, they will have more than 100 MRIs that they can study to determine if anything different is happening in the brains of persons who are able to function with little sleep," said Dr. J. Lynn Caldwell, the senior research psychologist with the 711 HPW/RH Biosciences and Performance Division, Vulnerability Analysis Branch. "Maybe then we can find out why some people are resistant to sleep deprivation."

Dr. Caldwell is the Wing's leading fatigue countermeasure researcher and is overseeing the latest study.

"We are looking at what it is about an individual that allows him or her to be able to perform well when sleep deprived," Dr. Caldwell explained. "Scientists are trying to figure out if there is a particular chemical that is different in people who can resist the effects of sleep deprivation."

Dr. Caldwell said so far researchers can identify people who are fatigue resistant and those who are not.

"It is still a new area and we have a long way to go with our research," she explained. "We are going to perform more MRIs to build up our database of test subjects."

This recent study is the second time Dr. Caldwell performed research using MRIs. Researchers had conducted a study in 2004 where they scanned the brains of Air Force fighter pilots.

"We found that the Air Force pilots we studied, compared to the general civilian population, were more fatigue resistant," Dr. Caldwell noted. "We are trying to use that as a jumping off point for the next phase of our fatigue resistant study."

Dr. Caldwell believes the Air Force pilots are more fatigue resistant because a fatigue resistant-type person would tend to choose to become a pilot.

"You don't choose to go into an occupation where you are going to have to work long hours and stay awake long hours if you cannot do it very well," she said.

Dr. Caldwell said unlocking the mystery of why some people can stay awake and perform well on a small amount of sleep will help experts develop courses of action to help people overcome fatigue.

The AFRL's studies on the effects of fatigue and fatigue-fighting strategies are being accomplished under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between the Air Force and Kettering Health Network.

Siemens Medical Solutions USA is supporting the research initiative by providing its latest imaging technology at the Kettering Innovation Center. The University of Dayton Research Institute is providing researchers, while Qbase, a data management and analytics company, is securing funding for further studies. The studies will benefit the military and civilian sectors.