Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs, 121.383c) contains a provision for mandatory retirement of airline pilots at age 60. The """"""""Age-60 Rule"""""""" was established in 1959 with """"""""... the objective of reducing aircraft accidents attributable to the effects of pilot aging."""""""" The logic behind this decision was that ... progressive deterioration of physiological and psychological functions regularly accompanied increasing age"""""""" (From historical review by Kay et al., 1993, 1-1). Despite this rationale, there has been little data collected to examine actual performance of aviators in this age group to objectively evaluate this rule. For several years our laboratory has studied the effects of age and drugs on aircraft pilot performance using flight simulator measures and computerized cognitive testing. Moreover, we have extensive experience in conducting longitudinal studies. In this context, we propose a longitudinal study to evaluate objectively age-related changes in flight performance of aviators 50 to 70 years of age. Furthermore, in our extensive work with normal older adults we have been impressed by the wide variability of performance in older populations, including aviators. We believe that some cognitive ability measures may predict aviation performance better than age alone. Therefore, in our proposed work, we will include carefully selected cognitive measures to explain variability in aviation performance among older pilots. In the proposed work we will address the following key issues: 1) Overall Effects Of Age on Aviation Performance In Pilots Aged 50 to 70. Using an accelerated longitudinal study design, we plan to determine if there are significant age-related changes in performance among aviators 50 to 70 years old. We will follow 100 pilots over a three-year period and use regression analyses to evaluate the effects of chronological age on performance over time. (2) Overall Effects of Processing Speed on Aviation Performance. In the past we and others have found, on a cross-sectional basis, that performance on measures of speed of processing and working memory is correlated with performance on aviation-related tasks. We plan to test the hypothesis that longitudinal simulator performance can be predicted by measures of cognitive processing speed.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
5R37AG012713-15
Application #
7886758
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-4 (01))
Program Officer
King, Jonathan W
Project Start
1995-09-10
Project End
2014-06-30
Budget Start
2010-07-01
Budget End
2014-06-30
Support Year
15
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$271,712
Indirect Cost
Name
Palo Alto Institute for Research & Edu, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
624218814
City
Palo Alto
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94304
Kennedy, Quinn; Taylor, Joy; Noda, Art et al. (2015) The STEP model: Characterizing simultaneous time effects on practice for flight simulator performance among middle-aged and older pilots. Psychol Aging 30:699-711
Taylor, Joy L; Scanlon, Blake K; Farrell, Michelle et al. (2014) APOE-epsilon4 and aging of medial temporal lobe gray matter in healthy adults older than 50 years. Neurobiol Aging 35:2479-2485
Adamson, Maheen M; Taylor, Joy L; Heraldez, Daniel et al. (2014) Higher landing accuracy in expert pilots is associated with lower activity in the caudate nucleus. PLoS One 9:e112607
Kennedy, Quinn; Taylor, Joy; Heraldez, Daniel et al. (2013) Intraindividual variability in basic reaction time predicts middle-aged and older pilots' flight simulator performance. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 68:487-94
Adamson, Maheen M; Bayley, Peter J; Scanlon, Blake K et al. (2012) Pilot expertise and hippocampal size: associations with longitudinal flight simulator performance. Aviat Space Environ Med 83:850-7
Adamson, Maheen M; Hutchinson, J Benjamin; Shelton, Amy L et al. (2011) Reduced hippocampal activity during encoding in cognitively normal adults carrying the APOE ?4 allele. Neuropsychologia 49:2448-55
Yesavage, Jerome A; Jo, Booil; Adamson, Maheen M et al. (2011) Initial cognitive performance predicts longitudinal aviator performance. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 66:444-53
Sanchez, M Millan; Das, D; Taylor, J L et al. (2011) BDNF polymorphism predicts the rate of decline in skilled task performance and hippocampal volume in healthy individuals. Transl Psychiatry 1:e51
Kennedy, Q; Taylor, J L; Noda, A et al. (2011) The roles of COMT val158met status and aviation expertise in flight simulator performance and cognitive ability. Behav Genet 41:700-8
Taylor, Joy L; Kennedy, Quinn; Adamson, Maheen M et al. (2011) Influences of APOE ?4 and expertise on performance of older pilots. Psychol Aging 26:480-7

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