Sustaining Female UH-60 Helicopter Pilot Performance with Dexedrine During Sustained Operations: A Simulator Study.

The efficacy of Dexedrine for sustaining the performance of six female UH-60 pilots under conditions of moderate sleep deprivation was determined. Each subject was exposed to one week of testing which included 2, 40-hour sleep deprivation periods. During both deprivation periods, there were 5 equally-spaced test sessions, each of which included a UH-60 simulator flight, an electroencephalographic (EEG) evaluation, a test on the Microsoft Flight Simulator, a Profile of Mood States questionnaire, and a cognitive evaluation on the Synthetic Work Battery. These testing sessions began at 0100, 0500, 0900, 1300, and 1700. During one of the deprivation periods, subjects were administered a 10-mg dose of Dexedrine one hour prior to each of the first three sessions (for a total of 30 mgs). During the other deprivation period, subjects were administered placebos. A double-blind administration scheme was used. Vital signs were monitored at regular intervals throughout the study.