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Paradoxical effects from stimulus density manipulation provide new insight into the impact of sleep deprivation on PVT performance
Abstract
Study Objectives: The psychomotor vigilance test (PVT), a 10-min one-choice reaction time task with random response-stimulus intervals (RSIs) between 2 and 10 s, is highly sensitive to behavioral alertness deficits due to sleep loss. To investigate what drives the performance deficits, we conducted an in-laboratory total sleep deprivation (TSD) study and compared performance on the PVT to performance on a 10-min high-density PVT (HD-PVT) with increased stimulus density and truncated RSI range between 2 and 5 s. We hypothesized that the HD-PVT would show greater impairments from TSD than the standard PVT. Methods: n = 86 healthy adults were randomized (2:1 ratio) to 38 h of TSD (n = 56) or corresponding well-rested control (n = 30). The HD-PVT was administered when subjects had been awake for 34 h (TSD group) or 10 h (control group). Performance on the HD-PVT was compared to performance on the standard PVTs administered 1 h earlier and 1 h later. Results: The HD-PVT yielded approximately 60% more trials than the standard PVT. The HD-PVT had faster mean response times (RTs) and equivalent lapses (RTs > 500 ms) compared to the standard PVT, with no differences between the TSD effects on mean RT and lapses between tasks. Further, the HD-PVT had a dampened time-on-task effect in both the TSD and control conditions. Conclusions: Contrary to expectation, the HD-PVT did not show greater performance impairment during TSD, indicating that stimulus density and RSI range are not primary drivers of the PVT’s responsiveness to sleep loss.
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![Figure 1. Signature effects captured by the PVT. (A) Performance degrades with increasing time on task, which is exacerbated by sleep loss. A 10-min standard PVT was administered every 3 h throughout 38 h of total sleep deprivation (TSD), which lasted from 08:00 until 22:00 the following evening. Mean RT (± SE) from 16 healthy adults is plotted per 1-min interval across the 10-min task duration, showing progressive slowing within each test bout, especially in the later part of the TSD period. Note that placement of the 1-min bins in each test is not to scale on the hours awake axis. Adapted from Fig. 2 in Grant et al. [12]. (B) Performance is worse for shorter response-stimulus intervals (RSIs), which is exacerbated by sleep loss. The percentage of RTs classified as lapses (RT > 500 ms) from 54 healthy adults who completed a 10-min PVT at 10:00 after 3.5 h awake and 24 h later after 27.5 h awake is plotted as a function of RSI sub-groups (with continuous-range RSIs between 2 and 10 s divided into 7 equal intervals on a log scale). Curves redrawn from data provided as part of Fig. 3 in Yang et al. [55]. (C) Extended wakefulness causes a rightward skewing of the RT distribution. The distribution of raw RTs from 9 healthy adults performing the PVT at 01:30 after 16 hours of wakefulness and after 40 hours of wakefulness is plotted. Adapted from Fig. 4.1 in Dinges and Kribbs [2]. (D) Sleep deprivation produces “lapses” evident as the emergence of slow RTs interspersed among fast RTs. Individual RTs for a healthy adult performing a PVT at 20:00 after 12 h awake (top panel) and again after 60 h awake (bottom panel). Gaps indicate false starts, the prevalence of which increases after sleep deprivation as well. Adapted from Fig. 3 in Doran et al. [3].](/paper-figures/eca53d16cf754c50b2216013cedd33a2/paradoxical-effects-from-stimulus-density-manipulation-provide-new-insight-into-figure-1.jpg)




![Figure 6. Illustration of the one-choice diffusion decision model for the PVT. After presentation of a stimulus and subsequent stimulus encoding, a decision process takes place during which evidence is accumulated through neuronal processing resembling a random walk with a certain drift rate. When the accumulated evidence reaches an evidence criterion, the decision process stops and a response is made. While performing the PVT, the evidence criterion must be set in advance of the stimulus onset and maintained throughout the RSI, which in the face of sleep deprivation may require sustained effort. Figure adapted from Ratcliff and Van Dongen [75].](/paper-figures/f5d44ecc7681463495f30e87ef6dd7e9/paradoxical-effects-from-stimulus-density-manipulation-provide-new-insight-into-figure-6.jpg)
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“The Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is highly sensitive to behavioral alertness deficits due to sleep loss (31) in both acute SD and partial SD (32).”
From Sleep deprivation alters utilization of negative feedback in risky decision-making (2024) · cites this paper as [31]
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Cites
Diffusion decision model: Current issues and history
Ratcliff, R., Smith, P. L., Brown, S. D., & McKoon, G. (2016) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.01.007 · Cited by 1,630 · cited 1×
“In the diffusion decision model, this corresponds with subjects raising the evidence criterion, which is under behavioral control [80], and doing so reduces sensitivity to sleep loss [79].”
MethodA meta-analysis of the impact of short-term sleep deprivation on cognitive variables
Lim, J., & Dinges, D. F. (2010) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0018883 · Cited by 1,389
Sleep Deprivation and Vigilant Attention
Lim, J., & Dinges, D. F. (2008) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1196/annals.1417.002 · Cited by 1,213
Sleep as a fundamental property of neuronal assemblies
Krueger, J. M., Rector, D. M., Roy, S., Van Dongen, H. P. A., Belenky, G., & Panksepp, J. (2008) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2521 · Cited by 596
Trait-like vulnerability to total and partial sleep loss
Rupp, T. L., Wesensten, N. J., & Balkin, T. J. (2012) · Sleep · doi:10.5665/sleep.2010 · Cited by 186
Jones, C. W., Basner, M., Mollicone, D. J., Mott, C. M., & Dinges, D. F. (2022) · Sleep · doi:10.1093/sleep/zsac006 · Cited by 68
Waggoner, L. B., Grant, D. A., Van Dongen, H. P. A., Belenky, G., & Vila, B. (2012) · Sleep · doi:10.5665/sleep.2214 · Cited by 52
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Sleep deprivation alters utilization of negative feedback in risky decision-making
Xu, W., Wang, L., Yang, L., Zhu, Y., & Chen, P. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1307408 · Cited by 2
Metadata
- Authors
- Honn, K. A., & Van Dongen, H. P. A.
- Affiliations
- Sleep and Performance Research Center and Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology, Washington State University , Spokane, WA , USA
- Venue
- SLEEP Advances
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2022-12-07
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 2632-5012
- PMC
- PMC10108643
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 7
- Language
- en
- Funders
- Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affair (W81XWH-16-1-0319)
- Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program Expansion (W81XWH-20-1-0442)
- Department of Defense
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