A Review of US Army Research Contributing to Cognitive Enhancement in Military Contexts
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REVIEW
A Review of US Army Research Contributing to Cognitive Enhancement in Military Contexts Tad T. Brunyé 1,2 & Randy Brou 3 & Tracy Jill Doty 4 & Frederick D. Gregory 5,6 & Erika K. Hussey 1,2 & Harris R. Lieberman 7 & Kari L. Loverro 1 & Elizabeth S. Mezzacappa 8 & William H. Neumeier 7 & Debra J. Patton 9 & Jason W. Soares 1 & Thaddeus P. Thomas 6 & Alfred B. Yu 6 Received: 9 October 2019 / Accepted: 24 January 2020 # This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2020
Abstract The US Department of Defense, including the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has engaged in cognitive enhancement research and development for over a century, exploring novel pharmaceutical, dietary, neuroscientific, instructional, technological, and sleep-related enhancement strategies. The overall objective of this work is to identify safe, reliable, and robust strategies and technologies to help military personnel achieve dominance through enhanced skill acquisition, vigilance and threat detection, situation awareness, decision-making, teamwork, and emotional control. The present review provides an introductory overview of recent and current US Army research examining several approaches to cognitive enhancement. These include approaches aimed at specifically targeting neural mechanisms and processes directly responsible for enhanced task performance and include transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), augmented reality (AR), and targeted skills training. Also considered are approaches targeting nth-order mechanisms and processes that relatively indirectly affect perception, cognition, and/or emotion and include nutritional and dietary intervention, resilience, cognitive and teamwork training, peripheral nerve stimulation, and sleep modification. We detail several promising approaches and provide an overview of forward-looking research objectives pursued by the US Army. Finally, we provide an overview of some of the ethical, regulatory, methodological, technological, doctrinal, and reliability challenges facing cognitive enhancement research and constraining its immediate application to military training and operations. Keywords Direct current stimulation . Peripheral nerve stimulation . Augmented reality . Skills training . Nutrition . Resilience . Mindfulness . Cognitive training . Teamwork training . Sleep
Introduction In the USA, research and development targeting human cognitive performance enhancement is a priority area for multiple
* Tad T. Brunyé [email protected]
Department of Defense (DoD) services and agencies, including the Army, Air Force, Navy, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Within the US Army, cognitive enhancement research is managed primarily by the
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U. S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Atlantic, Ruislip HA4 7HB, UK
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U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, 15 General Greene Ave, Natick, MA 01760, USA
U.S. Army Combat Capabil
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