Physiological metrics of mental workload: A review of recent progress

The ultimate goal of mental workload assessment is the prediction and understanding of variations in human performance in response to changes in system demands. This chapter describes some of the advantages of physiological measures of mental workload. Two general classes of physiological measures are examined in review of measures of mental workload: central nervous system measures (CNS) and peripheral nervous system measures. The boundaries between the CNS and the peripheral nervous system are based on anatomical distinctions. The Magnetoencephlographic activity technique provides information that complements Electroencephalographic Activity and event-related brain potentials and offers the potential for enhancing our understanding of the relationship between neurophysiological concepts of capacity and the psychological concept of mental workload. As with many physiological measures, there has been a lack of formal assessment of reliability, especially as it pertains to evaluations of mental workload.