Effects and after-effects of the common cold and influenza on human performance

Volunteers who develop a cold following virus challenge were significantly slower on choice reaction time tasks than those with no illness. This effect was still observed after the clinical symptoms had gone. In contrast to this, influenza illnesses only impaired performance in tasks in which subjec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNeuropsychobiology Vol. 21; no. 2; p. 90
Main Authors Smith, A P, Tyrrell, D A, al-Nakib, W, Barrow, P G, Higgins, P G, Leekam, S, Trickett, S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland 01.01.1989
Subjects
Adult
Arousal
Attention
Common Cold - psychology
Female
Humans
Influenza A virus - pathogenicity
Influenza, Human - psychology
Male
Middle Aged
Neurocognitive Disorders - psychology
Psychomotor Performance
Reaction Time
Rhinovirus - pathogenicity
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Summary:Volunteers who develop a cold following virus challenge were significantly slower on choice reaction time tasks than those with no illness. This effect was still observed after the clinical symptoms had gone. In contrast to this, influenza illnesses only impaired performance in tasks in which subjects were uncertain where the target stimulus would appear. These results demonstrate that the CNS effects of respiratory virus infections depend on the type of virus, and that performance impairments may remain even after the symptoms of a cold have gone.
ISSN:0302-282X
DOI:10.1159/000118558