For experiment one we are measuring core body temperature and cognitive processing. Core body temperature will be recorded using a telemetric pill. This device is considered the gold standard for temperature research. The pill is a capsule the size of a large vitamin and participants take it with water a few hours before they complete the live-fire training exercise (it takes some time for the pill to start recording temperature). The pill transmits a continuous low frequency signal, and this is picked up by a data logger that participants wear whilst they participate in our experiment. We can then transfer the data from the logger to a laptop for analysis. A recent publication from Pearson et al. (2022) describes the use of the pill.
In terms of cognitive processing, we are measuring three separate cognitive functions, working memory, vigilance, and cognitive flexibility; these are all crucial in firefighting. Working memory is important because it enables a firefighter to allocate mental resources to specific information and process that information by relating it to their past knowledge and experience. Vigilance allows a firefighter to maintain focus on the task at hand and not get distracted. Cognitive flexibility ensures that firefighters can respond to dynamic situations.
Working memory relates to the amount of information an individual can hold in their mind at any one time and their ability to process and update this information. To measure this, we are using the n-back task. In this test participants are presented with letters one at a time and for every letter they have to press a key to indicate if it matches the letter presented ‘n’ positions back. In our experiment we are using the 2-back, so participants have to respond to whether each letter matches the letter presented two positions back.
Vigilance is the ability to maintain focus and attention over a period of time. We are measuring vigilance using the sustained attention to response task in which participants see numbers appear one after another and they are asked to press a key every time a number is presented, unless the number is a ‘3’. As the numbers appear very quickly, a lack of vigilance will mean that participants will automatically respond to a 3 rather than withholding their response.
Cognitive flexibility relates to the ease with which an individual can change task, focusing on new information and ignoring information that was previously relevant. In experiment one we are testing this using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task. Participants are asked to sort cards according to different rules and they have to quickly adapt to unexpected rule changes. An example of this task being used in research can be found in a paper by Matthews et al. (2016).
These tasks are very different to the sort of activities that firefighters would usually complete. However, the cognitive functions we are measuring would all be required in fire and rescue scenarios. As this project is one of the first to measure the effects of extreme heat on cognition, we wanted to use validated, controlled tasks as a starting point. We intend to build on this in future research by assessing performance in more ecologically valid tasks.
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