SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2019
A Systematic Review of Physiological Measures of Mental Workload.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic review of neurophysiological assessment techniques and metrics for mental workload evaluation in real-world settings.Frontiers in neuroergonomics · 2025Pooled it
- The application of fNIRS in studies on occupational workload: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Combining EEG and eye-tracking for cognitive and physiological states monitoring: a systematic review.Frontiers in neuroergonomics · 2025Pooled it
- Examining Mental Workload Relating to Digital Health Technologies in Health Care: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Can Reactivity of Heart Rate Variability Be a Potential Biomarker and Monitoring Tool to Promote Healthy Aging? A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Pooled it
- Detecting Feigned Pain Using an Eye-Tracker Integrated Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS).Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2025Trial
- Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Sensory and Cognitive Demands in an Immersive Virtual Reality Shopping Task in Unimpaired Young Adults: Within-Subjects Experimental Study.JMIR serious games · 2026Article
- Machine Learning Classification of Physiological Dynamics During Standardized Task-Demand Transitions.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Multimodal EEG and Eye-Tracking Assessment of Perceived Mental Workload and Situation Awareness in a Visual Display Terminal Simulation Task.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Beyond Performance: Cognitive Overload and Related Cognitive, Psychophysiological, and Performance States in Competitive Esports-A Scoping Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of Surface Texture and Color on the Visuo-Tactile Perception of Polyurethane Synthetic Leather for Automotive Seats.Journal of eye movement research · 2026Article
- Measuring Pilot Mental Workload During Flights Without PAPI Lights Using a Wearable Device.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Article
- Comparing Eye-Tracking Metrics with the Driver Activity Load Index.Journal of eye movement research · 2026Article
- An Experimental Exploration of Cognitive Workload and Situational Awareness in Virtual Reality: Implications for Non-Clinical Emotional Support.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2026Article
- Assessment of cognitive load through photoplethysmography and bioimpedance responses during mental arithmetic tasks.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Conceptual qualitative system dynamics model for simulation of perceived workload, stress and performance from industrial work content.PloS one · 2026Article
- Divergent eye-brain-heart fatigue signatures during sustained simulated agricultural operations.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Examining physiological parameters of mental workload in the cockpit: a multimethod approach.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Classical back massage is associated with lower heart rate and sustained mean skin conductance during recovery after cognitive load: an exploratory controlled pilot study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Measures of the psychophysiological response to recurrent anticipatory stress - the influence of neuroticism on heart rhythm and skin resistance.Scientific reports · 2025Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mental workload (MWL) can affect human performance and is considered critical in the design and evaluation of complex human-machine systems. While numerous physiological measures are used to assess MWL, there appears no consensus on their validity as effective agents of MWL. This study was conducted to provide a comprehensive understanding of the use of physiological measures of MWL and to synthesize empirical evidence on the validity of the measures to discriminate changes in MWL. A systematical literature search was conducted with four electronic databases for empirical studies measuring MWL with physiological measures. Ninety-one studies were included for analysis. We identified 78 physiological measures, which were distributed in cardiovascular, eye movement, electroencephalogram (EEG), respiration, electromyogram (EMG) and skin categories. Cardiovascular, eye movement and EEG measures were the most widely used across varied research domains, with 76%, 66%, and 71% of times reported a significant association with MWL, respectively. While most physiological measures were found to be able to discriminate changes in MWL, they were not universally valid in all task scenarios. The use of physiological measures and their validity for MWL assessment also varied across different research domains. Our study offers insights into the understanding and selection of appropriate physiological measures for MWL assessment in varied human-machine systems.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.