ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors explore what they know about the neural basis of operator fatigue, specifically, the influence of fatigue on brain activity. They describe the relationship between fatigue and neural factors such as brain activity in some detail. The authors found that working in period of two hours without a break was associated with increased errors in performance. They believe the results are evidence of compromised executive mental control under fatigue conditions, which help explain the risk of errors and poorer performance that occurs when people become fatigued. The authors replace the alpha components at the onset of sleep. Alpha waves have a frequency range of 8–13 Hz, they occur during wakefulness, particularly over the occipital cortex, appear markedly at eye closure and decrease at eye opening and are highly attenuated during attention. The authors found significantly increased levels of delta and theta wave activity over the entire scalp and significant though smaller change in alpha and beta wave activity associated with fatigue.
