Objective:Workload is a useful construct in human factors and neuroergonomics research that describes “the perceived relationship between the amount of mental [and physical] processing capability or resources and the amount required by the task”. We apply this concept to neuropsychology and assess several dimensions of workload as it relates to performance on the Trail Making Test.Participants and Methods:Twenty college students completed the Trail Making Test (TMT). After completion of each Part A and B, workload was assessed with the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), a popular self-report measure of workload including subscales: Mental Demand, Physical Demand, Temporal Demand, Performance, Effort, and Frustration, with an overall average total score as well.Results:Completion time differed of course between Parts A and B (p < .001). Of more interest, overall workload differed between TMT A (M = 20.33, SD = 13.32) and TMT B (M = 35.79, SD = 17.37) (p < .001, h2 = .68). The greatest subscale differences were with Mental Demand (p < .001, h2 = .68) and Effort (p < .001, h2 = .59), but Physical Demand also showed a difference (p < .007, h2 = .33). Temporal Demand showed the smallest and nonsignificant difference (p = .081, h2 = .152).Conclusions:Based on previous research in our lab, most results were expected and understandable. As we know with the TMT, Part B is more cognitively demanding (in various ways) than Part A. The greater Physical Demand with Part B is a somewhat more complex finding, needing a solid explanation. Finally, the NASA-TLX appears to be a valid instrument of workload with a standard neuropsychologist test. We argue it can provide useful interesting information in the assessment of cognitive status in clinical populations.

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11 NASA-TLX 路径制作测试的工作负载概况

目标：工作负荷是人为因素和神经工效学研究中的一个有用的概念，它描述了“心理[和身体]处理能力或资源量与任务所需量之间的感知关系”。我们将这一概念应用于神经心理学，并评估工作量的几个维度，因为它与越野测试的表现有关。参与者和方法：20 名大学生完成了越野测试 (TMT)。完成 A 部分和 B 部分后，使用 NASA 任务负荷指数 (NASA-TLX) 评估工作量，这是一种流行的工作量自我报告衡量标准，包括子量表：精神需求、体力需求、时间需求、绩效、努力和结果：A 部分和 B 部分的完成时间当然不同 (p < .001)。更有趣的是，TMT A（M = 20.33，SD = 13.32）和 TMT B（M = 35.79，SD = 17.37）之间的总体工作量存在差异（p < .001，h2 = .68）。最大的子量表差异在于心理需求 (p < .001, h2 = .68) 和努力 (p < .001, h2 = .59)，但体力需求也显示出差异 (p < .007, h2 = .33 ）。时间需求显示出最小且不显着的差异（p = .081，h2 = .152）。结论：根据我们实验室之前的研究，大多数结果是预期的且可以理解的。正如我们所知，TMT 的 B 部分（在各个方面）比 A 部分的认知要求更高。B 部分的体能需求更大是一个更复杂的发现，需要一个可靠的解释。最后，NASA-TLX 似乎是经过标准神经心理学家测试的有效工作量工具。我们认为它可以为评估临床人群的认知状态提供有用的有趣信息。