Independent and interactive effects of thermal stress and mental fatigue on manual dexterity
Independent and interactive effects of thermal stress and mental fatigue on manual dexterity
Many occupations and sports require high levels of manual dexterity under thermal stress and mental fatigue. Yet, multistressor studies remain scarce. We quantified the interactive effects of thermal stress and mental fatigue on manual dexterity. Seven males (21.1 ± 1.3 yr) underwent six separate 60-min trials characterized by a combination of three air temperatures (hot, 37°C; neutral, 21°C; cold, 7°C) and two mental fatigue states (MF, mental fatigue induced by a 35-min cognitive battery; no-MF, no mental fatigue). Participants performed complex (O’Connor test) and simple (hand-tool test) manual tasks pre- and posttrial to determine stressor-induced performance changes. We monitored participants’ rectal temperature and hand skin temperature (Thand) continuously and assessed the reaction time (hand-click test) and subjective mental fatigue (5-point scale). Thermal stress (P < 0.0001), but not mental fatigue (P = 0.290), modulated Thand (heat, +3.3°C [95% CI: +0.2, +6.5]; cold, −7.5°C [−10.7, −4.4]). Mental fatigue (P = 0.021), but not thermal stress (P = 0.646), slowed the reaction time (∼10%) and increased subjective fatigue. Thermal stress and mental fatigue had an interactive effect on the complex manual task (P = 0.040), with cold-no-MF decreasing the performance by −22% [−39, −5], whereas neutral-MF, cold-MF, and heat-MF by −36% [−53, −19], −34% [−52, −17], and −36% [−53, −19], respectively. Only mental fatigue decreased the performance in the simple manual task (−30% [−43, −16] across all thermal conditions; P = 0.002). Cold stress-induced impairments in complex manipulation increase with mental fatigue; yet combined stressors’ effects are no greater than those of mental fatigue alone, which also impairs simple manipulation. Mental fatigue poses a greater challenge to manual dexterity than thermal stress.
Valenza, Alessandro
60b629a5-c527-4137-8efb-6670b165d319
Charlier, Harry
3d07212f-ba46-415f-911c-c8f63e613a08
Bianco, Antonino
c813a96b-983f-438f-8ee8-36c67746e727
Filingeri, Davide
42502a34-e7e6-4b49-b304-ce2ae0bf7b24
1 December 2020
Valenza, Alessandro
60b629a5-c527-4137-8efb-6670b165d319
Charlier, Harry
3d07212f-ba46-415f-911c-c8f63e613a08
Bianco, Antonino
c813a96b-983f-438f-8ee8-36c67746e727
Filingeri, Davide
42502a34-e7e6-4b49-b304-ce2ae0bf7b24
Valenza, Alessandro, Charlier, Harry, Bianco, Antonino and Filingeri, Davide
(2020)
Independent and interactive effects of thermal stress and mental fatigue on manual dexterity.
American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.
(doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00226.2020).
Abstract
Many occupations and sports require high levels of manual dexterity under thermal stress and mental fatigue. Yet, multistressor studies remain scarce. We quantified the interactive effects of thermal stress and mental fatigue on manual dexterity. Seven males (21.1 ± 1.3 yr) underwent six separate 60-min trials characterized by a combination of three air temperatures (hot, 37°C; neutral, 21°C; cold, 7°C) and two mental fatigue states (MF, mental fatigue induced by a 35-min cognitive battery; no-MF, no mental fatigue). Participants performed complex (O’Connor test) and simple (hand-tool test) manual tasks pre- and posttrial to determine stressor-induced performance changes. We monitored participants’ rectal temperature and hand skin temperature (Thand) continuously and assessed the reaction time (hand-click test) and subjective mental fatigue (5-point scale). Thermal stress (P < 0.0001), but not mental fatigue (P = 0.290), modulated Thand (heat, +3.3°C [95% CI: +0.2, +6.5]; cold, −7.5°C [−10.7, −4.4]). Mental fatigue (P = 0.021), but not thermal stress (P = 0.646), slowed the reaction time (∼10%) and increased subjective fatigue. Thermal stress and mental fatigue had an interactive effect on the complex manual task (P = 0.040), with cold-no-MF decreasing the performance by −22% [−39, −5], whereas neutral-MF, cold-MF, and heat-MF by −36% [−53, −19], −34% [−52, −17], and −36% [−53, −19], respectively. Only mental fatigue decreased the performance in the simple manual task (−30% [−43, −16] across all thermal conditions; P = 0.002). Cold stress-induced impairments in complex manipulation increase with mental fatigue; yet combined stressors’ effects are no greater than those of mental fatigue alone, which also impairs simple manipulation. Mental fatigue poses a greater challenge to manual dexterity than thermal stress.
Text
ajpregu.00226.2020 (1)
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 8 October 2020
Published date: 1 December 2020
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 450072
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/450072
PURE UUID: 8e6a76c0-7e3c-47f8-ada2-ff19a3f7af38
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Date deposited: 08 Jul 2021 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 06:34
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Author:
Alessandro Valenza
Author:
Harry Charlier
Author:
Antonino Bianco
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