Effects of the whole-body vibration direction on the cognitive response of standing subjects

• Published in: Ergonomics Vol. 66; no. 9; pp. 1270 - 1279
• Main Authors: Marelli, Stefano, Ferrario, Cristina, Lorenzini, Giuseppe, Ravi, Yuvan Sathya, Mazzoleni, Andrea, Marchetti, Enrico, Tarabini, Marco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis 02.09.2023; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Cognitive ability; cognitive performance; Exposure; PVT; Response time; standing posture; Time measurement; Variance analysis; Vibration; Vibration measurement; Vigilance; Whole-body vibration
• ISSN: 0014-0139; 1366-5847; 1366-5847
• DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2022.2144647

This study aims to investigate the effect of whole-body vibration along different axes on the response time (RT) of standing subjects during a customised psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). Twenty-five subjects were exposed to harmonic vibration with amplitude of 0.7 m/s 2 RMS and frequencies between 1.5 Hz and 12.5 Hz. ANOVA was used to assess if the difference of RT with and without vibration had a statistical relevance. Results showed that the RT was statistically affected by the vibration only at frequencies below 2 Hz. The vibration at higher frequencies had a minor effect on the RT. The RTs during the vibration exposure was, on average, 15% higher than the RT post exposure. Practitioner summary: This study investigates the effects of whole-body vibration (WBV) along different axes on the response time (RT). We measured the RTs to a psychomotor vigilance task of 25 standing subject exposed to WBV. The cognitive response was statistically affected by the WBV and, on average RT have increased of 15%.