CoasterChase

DoD warfighters are often required to perform complex tasks in a high-stress environment. Warfighters under stress can often make poor decisions with immediate and/or lasting consequences that may also contribute to long-term personal trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

DARPA’s CoasterChase program aims to develop a new approach to manage stress, potentially revolutionizing how we deal with high-pressure situations and prevent long-term effects of trauma such as PTSD. Our bodies have a natural stress response system that releases a hormone called cortisol, which serves as a biomarker for alertness. The program seeks to determine if there is a target amount of cortisol to induce good decision-making and proper response time.

CoasterChase will include an Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI) plan to include discussions regarding human use of the technology following its development.