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Interactive effects of physical work and carbon monoxide on cognitive task performance
1Institute of Environmental Stress, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
|December 1, 1988
Summary
Carbon monoxide (CO) exposure impairs cognitive function, particularly the ability to adapt to new tasks. Physical exertion interacts with CO effects, worsening visual search performance at high workloads.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Neuroscience
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic gas with known adverse health effects.
- Cognitive performance can be influenced by environmental factors and physical exertion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of varying carbon monoxide (CO) exposure levels on cognitive performance.
- To examine the interaction between CO exposure and physical workload on cognitive function.
Main Methods:
- 11 men and 7 women were exposed to three carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) levels (0, 7, 10%) under rest and two workloads (35%, 60% Vo2max).
- Cognitive tasks included spatial processing, memory, Stroop interference, visual search, and tracking.
- Performance was assessed across nine conditions using repeated measures.
Main Results:
- Performance on a modified Stroop task was impaired with increasing HbCO levels, indicating reduced adaptability.
- Visual search performance showed an interaction: improved at rest with higher HbCO, but impaired at 60% workload.
- No significant effects of elevated HbCO were observed on spatial processing, memory, reaction time, or tracking.
Conclusions:
- Elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels negatively impact cognitive functions requiring response set adaptation and complex visual processing under exertion.
- Physical workload significantly modulates the cognitive effects of CO exposure.
- Specific cognitive domains remain unaffected by moderate CO exposure.