RESEARCH NOTE: On Controlling Inert Gas Narcosis
研究了10名受试者在吸入20%和35%一氧化二氮后，通过视觉、动觉或组合感觉对准目标的任务表现，发现麻醉主要减慢信息处理而非扭曲感知，提示可通过训练提高潜水员的安全与效率。
Ten subjects breathed experimental mixtures of 20% and 35% nitrous oxide (N2O) balanced with oxygen and then aligned a pointer with a target using vision, kinesthesis, or combinations of these senses. In a prior session the subjects had been trained on the task with feedback while breathing N2O. The results showed that N2O did not influence variable error (VE), constant error, (CE), or absolute CE, but perceptual conditions influenced VE and absolute CE. These results suggest that the demonstration by Legge (1965) of changes in the variability and accuracy of matching on this task under N2O are indicative of changes in response bias and/or attention rather than perceptual sensitivity. It is argued that narcosis slows rather than distorts information processing. Slowing is accompanied by strategic changes that may be maladaptive. This suggests that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the safety and efficiency of divers exposed to narcosis could be improved with training.