Cortical theta–gamma coupling tracks the mental workload as an indicator of mental schema development during simulated quadrotor UAV operation

Abstract

Objective. In the emerging field of neuroergonomics, mental workload assessment is one of the most important problems. Previous studies have made some progress on the relationship between task difficulties and mental workload, but how the mental schema, a reflection of the understanding and mastery degree of a task, affects mental workload has not been clearly discussed. Approach. There is emerging appreciation for the role of theta–gamma coupling (TGC) in high-level cognitive functions. Here, we attempt to further our understanding of how mental schema development and task difficulty had an impact on mental workload from the perspective of TGC. Specifically, the variation of TGC coupling strength and coupling pattern was estimated with different test orders and task difficulties performed by 51 students in a ten-day simulated quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle flight training and test tasks. Main results. During the training, TGC increased with mental schema development. For the test tasks, TGC did not change with increasing task difficulty before the operator formed a mental schema but decreased with the increasing mental workload after the formation of the mental schema. Significance. Our results suggest that TGC was a robust indicator of mental schema development and could be biased by task difficulty. In conclusion, TGC can be a promising measure of mental workload, but only for experienced operators.