Grasping the world from a cockpit: perspectives on embodied neural mechanisms underlying human performance and ergonomics in aviation context

ABSTRACT

A great challenge for cognitive neuroscience is studying human behavior in its complexity as it manifests in the real world. The field of aviation provides a unique opportunity to investigate how perception, action and cognition interact in complex yet controlled ecologically valid environments. We suggest a novel cross-domain approach that combines insights from ecological psychology and embodied cognition with a neurophysiological framework to explain patterns of human performance across a variety of aviation contexts. Specifically, we argue that studying the interaction between an agent and the environment, as manifest in the Mirror Neuron system as a neural correlate, is key to understanding complex behavior. We can describe the experience and skills involved with task-relevant actions – like flying an airplane – using brain mechanisms of motor simulation of the observed action. With this direct coupling between perception and action, the automatic implicit nature of the Mirror Neuron system can be harnessed to improve human factor and ergonomics. This analysis offers three areas for future study and application: (1) enhancing flight training by isolating specific agent-environment relations; (2) tracking training progression based on brain signatures of flight expertise; and (3) neuroscientific-inspired ecological design of next-generation human–machine interfaces in flight decks.

KEYWORDS:

• Affordances
• aviation human performance
• human–machine interface design
• Mirror Neuron System
• Neuroergonomics

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Lt Col H Warren Rohlfs, USAF, and Natalie Hansen, Wright State University, for valuable suggestions for manuscript improvement.

Author contributions

M. Sestito contributed conception, literature review and manuscript drafting. J. Flach contributed conception and literature review. A. Harel contributed literature review and manuscript drafting supervision. All the authors contributed to the final revision of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors have declared that there are no conflicts of interests in relation to the subject if this study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mariateresa Sestito

Mariateresa Sestito is a clinical neuroscientist. She received her PhD degree in neuroscience from the University of Parma in 2014. Mariateresa's background encompasses neurophysiology, clinical neuropsychology and flight expertise. Her current activity is focused on aviation psychology and potential applications of the embodied cognition approach to human performance and HMI design.

John Flach

John Flach is a senior cognitive systems engineer at Mile Two LLC and Professor Emeritus at Wright State University. He received his PhD degree in human experimental psychology from The Ohio State University in 1984. John's primary areas of interest are cognitive systems engineering and ecological approaches to human performance.

Assaf Harel

Assaf Harel is a cognitive neuroscientist. He received his PhD degree in cognitive neuropsychology from Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2009. Assaf investigates the neural basis of visual recognition. He is particularly interested in how visual recognition occurs in real-world settings and adopts a neuroergonomic approach to study the applied aspects of high-level vision.