Aviat Space Envir Md
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Feb 2005
Cognitive paralysis in an emergency: the role of the supervisory attentional system.
Many witnesses attest that victims of a disaster often perish because they 'freeze' in the face of danger. It has been proposed that this cognitive paralysis occurs due to temporal and cognitive constraints on survival response times while leaving open the question of which cognitive component is implicated in this behavior. ⋯ Secondly, that the main role of the SAS is to operate as a temporal buffer, enabling a survival response to be prepared prior to facing a life-threatening event and not as a real-time immediate responder. It is argued that the initial cognitive paralysis differs at the cognitive and neurological levels from the more prolonged hypoactive behavior commonly seen in victims rescued from disasters and which is considered to be a form of disassociative reaction.
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The Colour Vision Study Group of Transport Canada undertook a prevalence review to ascertain the degree and type of color vision deficiency (CVD) common in different populations. This was performed as a first step toward establishing whether a bone fide occupational requirement for color vision in aviation can be determined. ⋯ Congenital CVD is present in a consequential percentage of men, but considerable variability exists in different populations (2-8%). Acquired CVD may elude detection, but if severe is also associated with loss of visual acuity and/or visual field. Senescence remains the most common and increasingly prevalent cause for acquired CVD.