Neural and cognitive foundations of human performance and safety in complex engineered systems

The field of human performance in complex engineering systems has emerged at the intersection of neuroscience, cognitive psychology, engineering, and public health. As automation, digitalization, and artificial intelligence transform industries such as transportation, manufacturing, construction, and emergency response, the demands placed on human cognition and physiology have never been greater. Individuals must maintain attention, manage workload, calibrate trust in automation, and make critical decisions under uncertainty—processes that are deeply rooted in neural mechanisms. Recent neurophysiological and cognitive research has provided valuable insights into attentional control, executive functioning, stress responses, and fatigue dynamics that underpin performance and safety outcomes. However, despite advances in neuroimaging and applied cognitive modeling, there remains a gap between mechanistic understanding and its translation into system design, regulatory guidelines, and preventive health strategies within complex, real-world environments. This gap emphasizes the necessity of integrative approaches that connect brain-based evidence with safety engineering and public health practice.This Research Topic aims to advance the understanding of how neural, cognitive, and physiological processes govern human performance, safety, and well-being in complex engineering contexts. It encourages collaboration between neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, engineers, human factors specialists, and public health researchers to reveal how the brain and body adapt—or fail to adapt—to high-demand environments. The goal is to translate fundamental neuroscientific knowledge into practical implications for safer system design, occupational health, and resilient workforce performance. Key questions include how attentional and stress regulation mechanisms predict safety-critical behavior, how neural dynamics evolve under fatigue or cognitive overload, and how these biological processes can inform interventions and technologies that mitigate risk.This Research Topic is focused on applied and translational neuroscience within engineering and public health domains. It welcomes both mechanistic and applied studies, but limits its scope to research that links cognitive or neural mechanisms to human performance, safety, and health outcomes.To gather further insights into this multidisciplinary area, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Attention, workload management, and situational awareness in transportation, industrial, and emergency operations- Decision-making, risk perception, and trust calibration in human–automation and human–machine collaboration- Cognitive fatigue, stress, and resilience under occupational or environmental stressors- Sensorimotor control and human–robot coordination in vehicles, robotics, and wearable systems- Applied neurophysiological and psychophysiological methods (EEG, fNIRS, ECG, EMG, eye-tracking) for real-world neuroscience- Computational modeling, digital twins, and machine learning to predict human performance and safety- Translational and occupational health research connecting neural dynamics to injury risk, mental health, and public safety outcomes Topic editors: Chaojie FAN, Dan Chong, Baoquan Cheng, Gianluca Borghini Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83492/neural-and-cognitive-foundations-of-human-performance-and-safety-in-complex-engineered-systems