This paper documents the development and evaluation of a neurophysiology-based method for deriving a continuous index of task loading from individuals engaged in complex computer-based work. Task loading is here referred to as the degree to which neural resources are activated by effortful task performance. Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were made while 16 subjects (Ss) performed versions of a PC-based flight simulation task of low, moderate, or high difficulty. As task difficulty increased, frontal midline theta EEG activity increased and alpha band activity decreased. A S-specific function that combined multiple EEG features to create a single load index was derived from a sample of each S's data and then applied to new test data from that S. Index values were computed for every 4 sec of task data. Across Ss, mean task load index values increased systematically with increasing task difficulty and differed significantly between the different task versions. Actual or potential applications of this research are discussed.
Samenvatting