Narcosis has additive rather than interactive effects on discrimination reaction time.

Abstract

A central feature of the impairment in performance produced by inert gas narcosis, which poses a threat to divers breathing compressed air, is a slowing of reaction time (RT). To investigate the locus of this slowing, the effects of 35% nitrous oxide on Crossman's confusion function were determined using line-length and weight discrimination tasks, with accuracy held constant. For both tasks narcosis slowed RT by increasing the intercept rather than the slope of Crossman's function. These results are interpreted in terms of additive factors method logic as being consistent with the predictions of the slowed processing model that has been proposed to account for the effects of narcosis on human performance.

• Authors: B Fowler, I Mitchell, M Bhatia, G Porlier
• Journal: Human factors (Hum Factors) Vol. 31 Issue 5 Pg. 571-8 (Oct 1989) ISSN: 0018-7208 [Print] United States
• PMID: 2625350 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Nitrous Oxide

Topics

• Confusion (chemically induced)
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Nitrous Oxide (adverse effects)
• Reaction Time (drug effects)
• Size Perception (drug effects)
• Weight Perception (drug effects)