Hypoxia impairs reaction time but not response accuracy in a visual choice reaction task

We investigated the effect of hypoxia on the reaction time (RT) and response accuracy of pilots performing a visual choice reaction task that corresponded to the scanning of helmet mounted display (HMD) symbology. Eighteen male military pilots performed the task in a hypobaric chamber at two simulated altitudes (92 m and 4572 m) in a single-blinded repeated measures and counter-balanced design. The visual stimuli were displayed in low and high contrast and at a 30- and 50-degree field of view (FoV). We measured the pilots' RT and response accuracy. Using an eye tracker, we measured the pilot's glance time at each stimulus location. Finally, we collected subjective ratings of alertness. The results show that hypoxia increased the RT and glance time. Lowering the stimulus contrast and increasing the FoV further increased the RT, independent of hypoxia. These findings provide no evidence for hypoxia-induced changes in visual contrast sensitivity or visual field. Instead, hypoxia seemed to affect RT and glance time by reducing alertness. Despite the increased RT, the pilots maintained their accuracy on the visual task, suggesting that visual scanning of HMD symbology may be resistant to the effects of acute hypoxia.