Date: Jan 29, 2020 03:00pm -4:30pm
Location: Dunton Tower: Room 2203
Title: A Novel Cognitive Neuroscience Method for Understanding Age Effects in Self-Referential Dynamic Spatial Models
Speaker: Kathleen Van Benthem
Abstract
Older age has been linked to an increased risk for critical incidents in aviation (such as terrain & mid-air crashes, or becoming lost). Evidence for this deleterious effect of age is seen in flight simulation research and aviation statistics (as monitored by stakeholders in aviation safety, such as the FAA). One explanation for the increased risk experienced by older pilots lays with the concurrent negative impact of age on detection, recoding, and integration of information from the environment. For example, evidence from the Advanced Cognitive Engineering Laboratory suggests that older pilots may be less efficient at detecting relevant auditory stimuli from the environment, and subsequently have less robust and less accurate self-referential dynamic spatial mental models.
Behavioural analyses are limited in their explanatory power and do not reveal the source of the deficiency in dynamic spatial mental models. In contrast methods from cognitive neuroscience may offer insights as to why older pilots are at a disadvantage when compared to younger pilots. Knowing why older pilots are disadvantaged is important, as this information points to the most efficient methods for managing this risk.
I will present findings from a large study of licensed pilots (ages 18 to 71 years) who flew a complex simulation where electroencephalographic (EEG) data was collected during the flight. Results, derived from traditional and a novel cognitive neuroscience approach, are framed using a neurophilosophical model of self-awareness (e.g., Peer et al., 2015; Weiler et al., 2016) . This talk is pure cognitive science as theories and methods from psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy are integrated and applied to a real-world problem and search for solutions.