Knowledge that Transforms

THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE ON A PROTRACTED VISUAL MONITORING TASK ANALOGOUS TO AN ASPECT OF AUTOMOBILE NIGHT DRIVING. THE TASK INVOLVED MONITORING TWO READ LIGHTS THAT MOVED APART AT RANDOM INTERVALS. THIS DISPLAY SIMULATED THE RATE-OF-CLOSURE CUE OF CHANGE IN VISUAL ANGLE FOR A VEHICLE FOLLOWING 60 YARDS BEHIND ANOTHER VEHICLE. TWENTY MEASURES OF RESPONSE LATENCY WERE PROVIDED FOR EACH S IN EACH OF FOUR HOURS OF CONTINUOUS TESTING. FIVE GROUPS (N=20 IN EACH) WERE GIVEN THE FOLLOWING TREATMENTS: PLACEBO, 200 MG. OF CAFFEINE AT THE BEGINNING AT THE SECOND HOUR; 200 MG. AT THE THIRD HOUR; 400 MG. AT THE SECOND, AND 400 MG. AT THE THIRD. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT CAFFEINE SIFNIFICANTLY INHIBITED RESPONSE BLOCKING (ATTENTION LAPSES). THE EFFECTS WERE APPARENT WITHIN ONE HOUR FOLLOWING ADMINISTRATION AND PERSISTED OVER THE REMAINING HOURS. NO DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND BETWEEN DOSAGE LEVELS OR IN MAGNITUDE OF EFFECT AT THE DIFFERENT ADMINISTRATION TIMES. /AUTHOR/