THIS MONTH IN AEROSPACE MEDICINE HISTORY “If some of the structures are receiving normal stimulation, the subAttributes of airline pilots (Fatigue Laboratory, Harvard University, Boston, ject can derive a pretty good total body orientation; but if, on the other hand, many of these or even all of these are receiving stimuli which are MA, and Medical Departments of Pan American Airways and United Air not normal on earth and this is happening simultaneously, then we Lines): “In this investigation, 199 civil air line pilots were given a series have to really assume a new order of disorientation because there are of physiological and psychological tests at the times of their annual no normal cues coming in which are meaningful in terms of terrestrial physical examinations at the San Francisco Base of Pan American experiences. Under such conditions severe disorientation can occur Airways. The subjects included 140 pilots in the regular service of with all of its disadvantages, even though a step-by-step exposure United Air Lines, fifty from Pan American Airways and twelve from under simulated conditions of the individual components would not the U.S. Naval Reserve, while on active flying duty. They varied in age create such a disorientation. from twenty to forty-seven years. The following “The use of hallucinogenic drugs as a way of producing a true spaconclusions may be drawn from the data obtained in this study:… tial disorientation may prove to be a very useful technique. Three hallu“The average number of flying hours was 5,659, with a range of cinogens have been shown to have this effect, and they might be helpful, 10,541 to 20,109 hours for the oldest group (ages forty to forty-seven for example, in familiarizing astronauts with performance of required years). In educational background, fifty-four graduated from high tasks under conditions of disorientation. This may reduce some of the school and 145 attended college. Only seventy-four of those who were anxiety which is ordinarily experienced under disorientation. enrolled in college received the B.A. degree. One hundred and sixty, or Furthermore, the effectiveness of training to overcome this disorienta80 per cent, of the pilots were married. The birth rate seemed small in tion can be investigated, which could be a very useful technique to that the average number of children in each family was 0.79. Only improve performance under the actual conditions. eighteen, or 11 per cent, were divorced… “In conclusion, I think we must come to a specific approach to this “Information relating to use of stimulants indicated that 133, or 67 field in terms of the basic components, and at the same time we must per cent, of the pilots smoke, on the average, thirty cigarettes a day. consider all the basic components and try to combine them under the Fifty-five stated that they did not use alcohol in any form and 113 indisame simulated conditions as in a particular situation in space. Only by cated they drank alcoholic beverages only occasionally… Ingenta Library such University methods can we begin to understand what is happening to the “Only sixty-five pilots or 32 per cent Delivered of the group by reported majorto: ill-Cornell 188.72.127.191 26 Jun 2016 07:31:11 ability of astronauts to orient themselves, and only then can we nesses throughout their lives. The mostIP: common minor illnessesOn: Sun, total have anyAssociation assurance that the tasks we expect an astronaut to Copyright: Aerospace Medical appeared to be gastro-intestinal disturbances, headaches and sinus perform under all these strange environmental situations, which will infections. Eight of the airmen had peptic ulcers… produce abnormal stimulation of all these components, will be some“The average height for the entire group was 5 feet 9.4 inches and thing the men actually can handle. Then we can reasonably expect that the average weight 163.4 pounds. Many of the pilots tended to be overthey will experience a certain amount of ease and also will perform weight; 127 or 65 per cent averaging about onetenth heavier than stanwith the required amount of accuracy in relation to their new environdard for their age and height… ment” (1). “In the basal state, 110 subjects or 76 per cent had oral temperatures of 98° or below and 35 or 24 per cent of 97° or below. The mean for the Twenty-Five Years Ago in November 1989 entire group in the basal state was 97.7° and in the non-basal state, Vection illusion in helicopter pilots (U.S. Coast Guard, Kodiak, AK, and 98.2°… Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, OH): “U.S. Coast “The pilots made an average score in the Schneider test of 14.5 under Guard helicopter pilots were questioned on the occurrence of the vecbasal and 13.6 under non-basal conditions. These results closely approxtion illusion while flying over water under different light and sea conimate the results obtained on 134 college athletes of 14.8… ditions. A total of 267 (79.9%) pilots completed the study questionnaire. “The basal pulse rates per minute tended to be slow, the group mean The illusion of vection was experienced by 248 (92.5%) of being 62.8. Fifty-four per cent had pulse rates of 60 or below. The these pilots. The majority of the pilots, 209 (84.6%), reported that dark increase of fourteen beats per minute on standing and of fifteen beats rather than light visual conditions increased the likelihood of experiencper minute after exercise was within the normal range for healthy ing vection. Vection was considered likely to occur over rough seas by young men. In the oldest group (forty to forty-seven years), the increasmore pilots [114 (46.2%)] than over smooth seas [81 (37.8%)]. Several es on standing and after exercise were significantly smaller than in the pilots commented that they had responded to the illusion with aircraft younger groups between twenty and twenty-nine years of movement. The vection illusion is a common experience among heliage… copter pilots while flying over open water. Low light conditions and “There appeared to be a tendency toward low systolic blood pressure rough sea states are conducive to experiencing the vection illusion. in these pilots; the mean for the group being 114 mm. Hg. Fifty-seven or Pilots may respond to the illusion with aircraft control movements, 40 per cent had systolic pressures of 106 or below. Only eight pilots in which raises flight safety concerns” (3). the entire group had systolic pressures above 135. The mean diastolic pressure for the group was 69 mm. Hg… REFERENCES “The mean score on the reaction time apparatus was 5 minutes, 47 1. Cohen LA. Human spatial orientation and its critical role in space seconds, compared with 6 minutes, 58 seconds for the control group of travel. Aerosp Med 1964; 35(11):1054–7. non-fliers. The pilots between twenty and thirty years of age made a 2. McFarland RA, Graybiel A, Liljencrantz E, Tuttle AD. An alalysis mean score of 5 minutes, 19 seconds, which is approximately the same of the physiological and psychological characteristics of two as the average score for student pilots at Randolph Field. There was a hundred civil air line pilots. J Aviat Med, 1939; 10(4):160–210. significant increase in this test for the older age groups. The correlation 3. Ungs TJ. The occurrence of the vection illusion among helicopter between this test and the Domino test was 0.27 Manu-script ±0.05. This pilots while flying over water. Aviat Space Environ Med 1989; latter test, as well as the Bernreuter Personality Inventory, proved to be 60(11):1099–101. of little value in studying the psychological characteristics of pilots” (2).

Seventy-Five Years Ago in November 1939

Fifty Years Ago in November 1964 Hallucinogenic drugs may help spatial orientation (Department of Physiology, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Original note: Some of the research described in this paper was supported by funds given by the National Institute of Mental Health): “The continuing ability of an organism to spatially orient itself in relation to its environment is a basic requirement for the survival of that organism. In relation to spaceflight, there is a great necessity for an astronaut to be well-oriented in his environment so that, first, he can make accurate judgments in relationship to himself and his physical environment and, second, he should as much as possible be mentally at ease with his environment…

1154

______________ This column is prepared each month by Walter Dalitsch III, M.D., M.P.H. Most of the articles mentioned here were printed over the years in the official journal of the Aerospace Medical Association. These and other articles are available for download from Mira via https://submissions.miracd.com/asmaarchive/Login.aspx. Reprint and Copyright by the Aerospace Medical Association, Alexandria, VA. DOI: 10.3357/ASEM.4158.2014

Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine • Vol. 85, No. 11 • November 2014