THE APPLICATION OF HUMAN OPERATOR DESCRIBING FUNCTIONS TO STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL AND MARIJUANA ON HUMAN PERFORMANCE

Two projects have been carried out to study the application of human operator describing functions in the investigation of the influence of drugs (alcohol and marijuana) on subjects performing a compensatory visual-manual tracking task. The describing functions were measured through the application of power spectral density techniques to the signals circulating in the control loop. A range of drug dosages was employed which included alcohol alone, marijuana alone, and a combined dose of marijuana and alcohol. Significant alternations in the describing functions were observed and interpreted as changes in amplitude, phase, and operator injected noise (remant). Linear models fitted to the raw describing function data are used to summarize the observed trends in the human operator's dynamic characteristics. The results provide an insight into the changes in human performance produced by alcohol and marijuana.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, Ottawa, Canada and the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Research Foundation, Toronto, Canada.
• Corporate Authors:

  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

  3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor
  New York, NY  United States  10016-5997
• Authors:
  • Reid, L D
  • Ibrahim, MFK
• Publication Date: 1975-9

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 14 p.
• Serial:
  • IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics
  • Volume: SMC5
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohols; Driver performance; Drivers; Drugs; Marijuana; Motor skills; Personnel performance; Power spectra
• Uncontrolled Terms: Psychomotor performance
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00134723
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Research Institute
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 22 1976 12:00AM