Accession Number:

ADA151030

Title:

Effects of Atropine Dosage Levels on Military Map Plotting.

Descriptive Note:

Technical rept.,

Corporate Author:

ARMY RESEARCH INST OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE NATICK MA

Personal Author(s):

• Kobrick,J. L.

Report Date:

1985-01-01

Pagination or Media Count:

21.0

Abstract:

A study was conducted to determine the effects of several atropine dosage levels 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 mg, administered intramuscularly combined with ambient heat exposure 40 deg C, 40 RH on the ability of soldiers to perform a task consisting of plotting sector-grid coordinate locations on military maps. Following acclimatization, eight soldier volunteers plotted grid coordinates on military sector maps for a ten-minute period daily as part of a larger study, under different series of daily drug administrations combined with heat exposure. No differences were observed in performance of the task between drug test days and control days, either in number of targets plotted or in mean errors. Furthermore, any drug effects on performance were so slight as to be offset by noticeable improvement in performance of the task due to practice. These results would seem to support the feasibility of atropine utilization as a chemical defense antidote for combat operations, since it had no observable effect on performance of an important and widely-employed operational military task. Additional keywords Intramuscular Injections Heat stressPhysiology High humidity and Army research. Author

Descriptors:

• *MAPS
• *PLOTTING
• *ATROPINE
• *HEAT STRESS(PHYSIOLOGY)
• ARMY RESEARCH
• ARMY PERSONNEL
• PERFORMANCE(HUMAN)
• GRIDS(COORDINATES)
• CHEMICAL WARFARE
• DOSAGE
• ANTIDOTES
• HIGH HUMIDITY

Subject Categories:

• Stress Physiology
• Pharmacology

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE