Efficacy of Dry Electroencephalography and Cognitive Assessment in Identifying Normobaric Hypoxia in Designated Aviators

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of EEG and cognitive functioning assessments to identify hypoxia in naval aviators. Naval aviators were brought slowly to a 6,096 m exposure to induce normobaric hypoxia while completing a cognitive assessment and a simulated flight task. There were significant reductions in cognitive performance at 6,096 m when compared to sea level. There were no significant changes in EEG-recorded brainwave activity during the 6,096 m exposure compared to sea level. There were also no significant decrements in flight performance at 6,096 m. Additional research is needed to better understand the impact of hypoxia on brainwave activity and pilot performance.