Impact of Positive Emotions Enhancement on

“Despite of military’s captivation with high technologies systems, human performance remains the keystone of successful military operations” [1]. Cognitive enhancing-drugs strategies has been developed to improve the normal span of human abilities for completing mission essential tasks. A combination of certain attitudes and behaviours constituting a more natural approach based on physical training, sleep rest strategies, or dietary and nutritional strategies has also been proposed. Researches exploring the impact of emotions' regulation on physiological processes and cognitive functioning are relatively scarce as studies has primarily focused on improving health and well-being by reducing negative emotions. The capacity to self-generate positive emotional states, however, can be developed and refined through the use of practical tools and techniques enhancing quickly shift to a physiologically quiet state by increasing parasympathetic flexibility, which is known to reflect an adaptive response to environment [2]. The French Army has developed a practical tool using different techniques in order to improve regulation of emotions before, during and after actions [3]. This psychological training is called “Technique d’Optimisation des Performances (TOP)”. The Institute of HeartMath® has also developed techniques for enhancing heart/brain synchronization (Heart Coherence; Cardiac Coherence (CC)), leading to a state of autonomic nervous system balance function that is correlated with improved cognitive function and health-related outcomes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the benefits of the use of these two practical tools for military pilots on conducting operational activities. Methods: Three groups of 10 middle-aged pilots were recruited from three different “escadrilles” to participate in the study. They were designed by the head-quarter for a 2-month mission in Afghanistan in the following months. A group's randomisation was made for determining a group for TOP training, a group for CC training, and a control group. Psychological training was performed during 6 to 8 weeks. The experimental procedure consisted in collecting (i) psychological data (resilience, well-being, anxiety), (ii) 12h-night urines to assess allostasic load (cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline, DHEAs, Dopamine excretions), (iii) 12h-night to assess heart rate variability and (iv) IgA measures. These data were collected once before the mission for the control group and twice before the mission for the TOP and CC groups (before and after the psychological training). These measures will be also collected at the end of the mission. Results: All results will be available at the end of the mission in July 2009.