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The present study investigated whether trait self-control impacted operators' behavior and associated neural resource strategies during a temporally irregular vigilance task. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) readings of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HbR) from 29 participants were recorded fromthe prefrontal and parietal cortices. Self-control was associated with better perceptual sensitivity (A') in the task with the irregular event schedule. A left-lateralized effect of HbO2 was found for temporal irregularity within the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, in accordance with functional transcranial doppler (fTCD) studies. Self-control increased HbR (decreasing activation) at right superior parietal lobule (rSPL; supporting vigilance utilization) and right inferior parietal lobule (rIPL; supporting resource reallocation). However, only rSPL was associated with the vigilance decrement--where decreases in activation led to better perceptual sensitivity in the temporally irregular task. Additionally, short stress-state measures suggest decreases in task engagement in individuals with higher self-control in the irregular task. The authors suggest a trait-state-brain-behavior relationship for self-control during difficult vigilance tasks. Implications for the study include steps toward rectifying the resource utilization vs. allocation debate in vigilance--as well as validating HbO2 and HbR as effective constructs for predicting operators'mental resources through fNIRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tendency for our minds to wander is a pervasive and disruptive influence on continued task performance. Models of sustained attention have implicated mind wandering, moments when attention has turned inwards toward task-unrelated thought, in characteristic patterns of worsening performance with greater time-on-task, known as the vigilance decrement. Despite their theoretical connection, associations between mind wandering and the vigilance decrement have not been investigated systematically. Across two studies (N = 730), we evaluated covariance between within-task change in rates of probe-caught mind wandering and patterns of worsening behavioral task performance that characterize the vigilance decrement. Bivariate growth curve models characterized patterns of intraindividual linear change in mind wandering alongside concomitant changes in task accuracy, response time (RT), and RT variability. Importantly, models assessing the covariance between intraindividual change in mind wandering and behavioral outcome measures confirmed that increases in mind wandering are associated with patterns of worsening behavioral performance with greater time-on-task. In addition, we investigated the role of several moderating factors associated with patterns of within-task change: self-reported task interest and motivation, and individuals' propensity for mind wandering, and mindfulness in their daily lives. These factors moderated either the overall level or rate of within-task change in mind wandering. Our results provide support for models of sustained attention that directly implicate mind wandering in worsening behavioral performance with greater time-on-task in continuous performance tasks requiring sustained attention. Public Significance Statement: There is a pervasive tendency for our minds to wander away from our current task toward off-task thought. In line with recent theories proposing that mind wandering may disrupt sustained attention, our results implicate mind wandering as a consequential factor in reducing individuals' sustained attention task performance with greater time-on-task. Increases in mind wandering over time are directly associated with patterns of worsening performance over time. Yet, being more mindful, motivated, and task-interested may protect against mind wandering's disruptive influence on task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated whether trait self-control impacted operators' behavior and associated neural resource strategies during a temporally irregular vigilance task. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) readings of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HbR) from 29 participants were recorded fromthe prefrontal and parietal cortices. Self-control was associated with better perceptual sensitivity (A') in the task with the irregular event schedule. A left-lateralized effect of HbO2 was found for temporal irregularity within the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, in accordance with functional transcranial doppler (fTCD) studies. Self-control increased HbR (decreasing activation) at right superior parietal lobule (rSPL; supporting vigilance utilization) and right inferior parietal lobule (rIPL; supporting resource reallocation). However, only rSPL was associated with the vigilance decrement—where decreases in activation led to better perceptual sensitivity in the temporally irregular task. Additionally, short stress-state measures suggest decreases in task engagement in individuals with higher self-control in the irregular task. The authors suggest a trait-state-brain-behavior relationship for self-control during difficult vigilance tasks. Implications for the study include steps toward rectifying the resource utilization vs. allocation debate in vigilance—as well as validating HbO2 and HbR as effective constructs for predicting operators' mental resources through fNIRS.

INTRODUCTION: Studies examining sustained attention abilities typically utilize metrics that quantify performance on vigilance tasks, such as response time and response time variability. However, approaches that assess the duration that an individual can maintain their attention over time are lacking. METHODS: Here we developed an objective attention span metric that quantified the maximum amount of time that a participant continuously maintained an optimal in the zone sustained attention state while performing a continuous performance task. RESULTS: In a population of 262 individuals aged 7-85, we showed that attention span was longer in young adults than in children and older adults. Furthermore, declines in attention span over time during task engagement were related to clinical symptoms of inattention in children. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that quantifying attention span is a unique and meaningful method of assessing sustained attention across the lifespan and in populations with inattention symptoms.

Vigilance decrement is a ubiquitous problem in attention-demanding tasks. Therefore, it is significant to develop neuromodulation methods to mitigate the negative neural effect of vigilance decrement. As one of the non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, visual flicker/rhythmic visual stimulation (RVS) has been proposed to entrain neural oscillations and thereby modulate cognitive processes supported by these brain rhythms, but its effects on vigilance decrement are still unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of gamma flicker on vigilance decrement and its underlying neural mechanism. Thirty participants were recruited to perform a 12-min vigilance task. They were required to discriminate the orientation of lateralized triangle targets with/without 40-Hz RVS background. As a result, it was found that 40-Hz RVS mitigated the decrease in perceptual sensitivity ( A ′ ) with time-on-task, a typical adverse effect on behaviors caused by vigilance decrement. Electroencephalography (EEG) results showed that 40-Hz RVS could reduce the significant decline of post-stimulus theta-band inter-trial coherence (ITC) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) with time-on-task. Regression analysis further revealed that the anterior theta-band ITC was significantly correlated to perceptual sensitivity ( A ′ ) in a positive manner. These findings indicated that gamma flicker to the visual cortex had a cross-frequency neuromodulation effect on low-frequency EEG responses over the long-range PFC region. Furthermore, this study provides new insights into the neural effects of 40-Hz RVS, which could impact time-on-task effects on vigilance behaviors and alter the utilization of attentional resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abundance of laboratory-based experiments has described a vigilance decrement of reducing accuracy to detect targets with time on task, but there are few real-world studies, none of which have previously controlled the environment to control for bias. We describe accuracy in clinical practice for 360 experts who examined >1 million women's mammograms for signs of cancer, whilst controlling for potential biases. The vigilance decrement pattern was not observed. Instead, test accuracy improved over time, through a reduction in false alarms and an increase in speed, with no significant change in sensitivity. The multiple-decision model explains why experts miss targets in low prevalence settings through a change in decision threshold and search quit threshold and propose it should be adapted to explain these observed patterns of accuracy with time on task. What is typically thought of as standard and robust research findings in controlled laboratory settings may not directly apply to real-world environments and instead large, controlled studies in relevant environments are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionResearch over the last couple of decades has demonstrated a relationship between psychophysiological measures, specifically cardiac functions, and cognitive performance. Regulation of the cardiac system under parasympathetic control is commonly referred to as cardiac vagal tone and is associated with the regulation of cognitive and socioemotional states. The goal of the current study was to capture the dynamic relationship between cardiac vagal tone and performance in a vigilance task.Method/ResultsWe implemented a longitudinal growth curve modeling approach which unveiled a relationship between cardiac vagal tone and vigilance that was non-monotonic and dependent upon each person.DiscussionThe findings suggest that cardiac vagal tone may be a process-based physiological measure that further explains how the vigilance decrement manifests over time and differs across individuals. This contributes to our understanding of vigilance by modeling individual differences in cardiac vagal tone changes that occur over the course of the vigilance task.

Previous studies have found that infrequent targets can reduce dogs' vigilance. The purpose of this study was to develop a laboratory model to evaluate the effects of infrequent targets on dogs' search behavior and performance. Dogs (n = 18) were trained to detect smokeless powder in an automated olfactometer in two distinct rooms ("operational" and "training"). During baseline, the dogs received five daily sessions at a high target odor frequency (90%) in both rooms. Subsequently, the frequency of the target odor was decreased to 10% only in the "operational" room but remained at 90% in the training room. Last, the odor prevalence was returned to 90% in both rooms. All dogs showed a significant decrement in detection performance in the operational room when the target odor frequency was decreased but simultaneusly mantained high performance in the training room. This decrement was largely due to decreases in adequate search behavior. All dogs recovered performance when the odor frequency was increased again to 90%. Trial accuracy was associated with tail position, search score, latency, and duration of environmentally directed behaviors. The data show that low target odor prevalence significantly reduced search behavior and performance and that there are behaviors that can be used by handlers to assess their dog's search state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vigilance is an important behaviour to monitor the environment from detecting predators to tracking conspecifics. However, little is known about how vigilance changes over time either without disturbance (vigilance decrement) or after a change occurred. The time course of vigilance can indicate how animals perceive a situation and the potential mechanism used to deal with it. I investigated the time course of vigilance in Gouldian Finches in four situations (familiar environment, two changed environments–novel object at a neutral location (exploration trial) or above the feeder (neophobia trial), novel environment). The frequency of head movements was assessed in four consecutive 15-min blocks in same sex pairs with a high frequency generally seen as indicative of high vigilance. Vigilance decreased over time in the familiar situation indicating vigilance decrement with a similar time course in the exploration trial. Vigilance was consistently high in the neophobia trial and only returned to normal in the last block. Finally, vigilance plummeted in the novel environment and did not return to normal within an hour. Results suggest that perceived threats affected vigilance and that information gathering reduced uncertainty allowing vigilance to return to normal levels but with different time courses depending on the situation.

Background: Decrements in performance and the propensity for increased mindwandering (i.e., task-unrelated thoughts) across time-on-task are two pervasive phenomena observed when people perform vigilance tasks. In the present study, we asked whether processes that lead to vigilance decrement and processes that foster the propensity for mind-wandering (MW) can be dissociated or whether they share a common mechanism. In one experiment, we introduced two critical manipulations: increasing task demands and applying anodal highdefinition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Method: Seventy-eight participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups resulting from the factorial combination of task demand (low, high) and stimulation (anodal, sham). Participants completed the sustained attention to response task (SART), which included thought probes on intentional and unintentionalMW. In addition, we investigated the crucial role of alpha oscillations in a novel approach. By assessing pre-post resting EEG, we explored whether participants' variability in baseline alpha power predicted performance in MW and vigilance decrement related to tDCS or task demands, respectively, and whether such variability was a stable characteristic of participants. Results: Our results showed a double dissociation, such that task demands exclusively affected vigilance decrement, while anodal tDCS exclusively affected the rate of MW. Furthermore, the slope of the vigilance decrement function and MW rate (overall, intentional and unintentional) did not correlate. Critically, resting state alpha-band activity predicted tDCS-related gains in unintentional MW alone, but not in vigilance decrement, and remained stable after participants completed the task. Conclusion: These results show that when a sustained attention task involving executive vigilance, such as the SART, is designed to elicit both vigilance decrement effects and MW, the processes leading to vigilance decrement should be differentiated from those responsible for MW, a claim that is supported by the double dissociation observed here and the lack of correlation between the measures chosen to assess both phenomena. Furthermore, the results provide the first evidence of how individual differences in alpha power at baseline may be of crucial importance in predicting the effects of tDCS on MW propensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Animals monitor their environment (vigilance) to detect predators and keep an eye on conspecifics. Once a change has been detected, vigilance generally increased to collect more information. However, little is known about the time course of vigilance to return to normal, which can tell us how threatening animals perceive different situations. This was investigated in Gouldian Finches by assessing the frequency of head movements in 15-min blocks across an hour in four situations (familiar environment, two changed environments with novel objects added at different locations and an unfamiliar environment). The time course of vigilance to return to normal differed between situations with consistently high vigilance when a novel object was placed above the feeder that only returned to normal at the end of the hour indicating that this situation was perceived as threatening. In contrast, a novel object placed at a neutral location on a perch did not elicit a strong response and vigilance mirrored the familiar situation with only a slight decline over time. Finally, vigilance plummeted to very low levels in the unfamiliar environment and did not recover within an hour. Birds may have looked in one direction for longer to take in all details. Vigilance is an important behaviour to monitor the environment from detecting predators to tracking conspecifics. However, little is known about how vigilance changes over time either without disturbance (vigilance decrement) or after a change occurred. The time course of vigilance can indicate how animals perceive a situation and the potential mechanism used to deal with it. I investigated the time course of vigilance in Gouldian Finches in four situations (familiar environment, two changed environments–novel object at a neutral location (exploration trial) or above the feeder (neophobia trial), novel environment). The frequency of head movements was assessed in four consecutive 15-min blocks in same sex pairs with a high frequency generally seen as indicative of high vigilance. Vigilance decreased over time in the familiar situation indicating vigilance decrement with a similar time course in the exploration trial. Vigilance was consistently high in the neophobia trial and only returned to normal in the last block. Finally, vigilance plummeted in the novel environment and did not return to normal within an hour. Results suggest that perceived threats affected vigilance and that information gathering reduced uncertainty allowing vigilance to return to normal levels but with different time courses depending on the situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity to sustain attention to virtual threat landscapes has led cyber security to emerge as a new and novel domain for vigilance research. However, unlike classic domains, such as driving and air traffic control and baggage security, very few vigilance tasks exist for the cyber security domain. Four essential challenges that must be overcome in the development of a modern, validated cyber vigilance task are extracted from this review of existent platforms that can be found in the literature. Firstly, it can be difficult for researchers to access confidential cyber security systems and personnel. Secondly, network defense is vastly more complex and difficult to emulate than classic vigilance domains such as driving. Thirdly, there exists no single, common software console in cyber security that a cyber vigilance task could be based on. Finally, the rapid pace of technological evolution in network defense correspondingly means that cyber vigilance tasks can become obsolete just as quickly. Understanding these challenges is imperative in advancing human factors research in cyber security.CCS categoriesHuman-centered computing~Human computer interaction (HCI)~HCI design and evaluation methods.

BackgroundDecrements in performance and the propensity for increased mind-wandering (i.e., task-unrelated thoughts) across time-on-task are two pervasive phenomena observed when people perform vigilance tasks. In the present study, we asked whether processes that lead to vigilance decrement and processes that foster the propensity for mind-wandering (MW) can be dissociated or whether they share a common mechanism. In one experiment, we introduced two critical manipulations: increasing task demands and applying anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.MethodSeventy-eight participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups resulting from the factorial combination of task demand (low, high) and stimulation (anodal, sham). Participants completed the sustained attention to response task (SART), which included thought probes on intentional and unintentional MW. In addition, we investigated the crucial role of alpha oscillations in a novel approach. By assessing pre-post resting EEG, we explored whether participants’ variability in baseline alpha power predicted performance in MW and vigilance decrement related to tDCS or task demands, respectively, and whether such variability was a stable characteristic of participants.ResultsOur results showed a double dissociation, such that task demands exclusively affected vigilance decrement, while anodal tDCS exclusively affected the rate of MW. Furthermore, the slope of the vigilance decrement function and MW rate (overall, intentional and unintentional) did not correlate. Critically, resting state alpha-band activity predicted tDCS-related gains in unintentional MW alone, but not in vigilance decrement, and remained stable after participants completed the task.ConclusionThese results show that when a sustained attention task involving executive vigilance, such as the SART, is designed to elicit both vigilance decrement effects and MW, the processes leading to vigilance decrement should be differentiated from those responsible for MW, a claim that is supported by the double dissociation observed here and the lack of correlation between the measures chosen to assess both phenomena. Furthermore, the results provide the first evidence of how individual differences in alpha power at baseline may be of crucial importance in predicting the effects of tDCS on MW propensity.

Multiple theories have used perceptual sensitivity and response criterion indices to explain the decrements in performance across time on task (i.e., vigilance decrement). In a recent study, McCarley and Yamani (2021) offered conceptual and methodological advances to this debate by using a vigilance task that parametrically manipulates noise and signal and analyzes the outcomes with psychometric curves. In the present Commentary, we reanalyze data (N = 553) from a different, already existing vigilance task, the Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance—executive and arousal components (ANTI-Vea). Psychometric curves with the ANTI-Vea showed robust changes in response criterion and lapse rate, although not in sensitivity. Our interpretation is that the need to keep the standard in memory in McCarley and Yamani's task could produce a decrease in sensitivity and be related to reduced fidelity of the memory representation rather than to a decrement in perceptual abilities across time on task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decrease in vigilance over time is often observed when performing prolonged tasks, a phenomenon known as "vigilance decrement." The present study aimed at testing some of the critical predictions of the resource-control theory about the vigilance decrement. Specifically, the theory predicts that the vigilance decrement is mainly due to a drop in executive control, which fails to keep attentional resources on the external task, thus devoting a larger number of resources to mind-wandering across time-on-task. Datasets gathered from a large sample size (N = 617) who completed the Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance—executive and arousal components in Luna, Roca, Martín-Arévalo, and Lupiáñez (2021b, Behavior Research Methods, 53[3], 1124–1147) were reanalyzed to test whether executive control decreases across time in a vigilance task and whether the vigilance decrement comes along with the decrement in executive control. Vigilance was examined as two dissociated components: executive vigilance, as the ability to detect infrequent critical signals, and arousal vigilance, as the maintenance of a fast reaction to stimuli. The executive control decrement was evidenced by a linear increase in the interference effect for mean reaction time, errors, and the inverse efficiency score. Critically, interindividual differences showed that the decrease in the executive—but not in the arousal—component of vigilance was modulated by the change in executive control across time-on-task, thus supporting the predictions of the resource-control theory. Nevertheless, given the small effect sizes observed in our large sample size, the present outcomes suggest further consideration of the role of executive control in resource-control theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has considerably heightened health and financial concerns for many individuals. Similar concerns, such as those associated with poverty, impair performance on cognitive control tasks. If ongoing concerns about COVID-19 substantially increase the tendency to mind wander in tasks requiring sustained attention, these worries could degrade performance on a wide range of tasks, leading, for example, to increased traffic accidents, diminished educational achievement, and lower workplace productivity. In two pre-registered experiments, we investigated the degree to which young adults’ concerns about COVID-19 correlated with their ability to sustain attention. Experiment 1 tested mainly European participants during an early phase of the pandemic. After completing a survey probing COVID-related concerns, participants engaged in a continuous performance task (CPT) over two, 4-min blocks, during which they responded to city scenes that occurred 90% of the time and withheld responses to mountain scenes that occurred 10% of the time. Despite large and stable individual differences, performance on the scene CPT did not significantly correlate with the severity of COVID-related concerns obtained from the survey. Experiment 2 tested US participants during a later phase of the pandemic. Once again, CPT performance did not significantly correlate with COVID concerns expressed in a pre-task survey. However, participants who had more task-unrelated thoughts performed more poorly on the CPT. These findings suggest that although COVID-19 increased anxiety in a broad swath of society, young adults are able to hold these concerns in a latent format, minimizing their impact on performance in a demanding sustained attention task.

Humans generally display vigilance decrement during sustained cognitive workloads, while visual and auditory stimuli have been shown to elicit arousal, which influences the level of user vigilance. This study explored the effects of hue and background music pitch on user vigilance. Thirty-five participants performed a 10-min Psychomotor Vigilance Test with background music playing. Three hue conditions (red, green, and yellow) and two background music pitch conditions (high and low pitch) were randomly combined in each task, and the reaction time (RT) and number of lapses under different conditions were measured. We found that the overall vigilance performance was the best (shortest RT and fewest lapses) and the worst, and the vigilance decrement was the fastest and the slowest, respectively, with the red and the yellow signal. Moreover, the overall vigilance performance was best with low-pitched background music, while the pitch did not affect vigilance decrement. These findings can be used in situations with repeated color-signal stimulation and music playing (e.g., driving, signal monitoring, and physical training) to improve users' vigilance performance. • Signal hue has an effect on overall vigilance performance, with red signals eliciting the best performance. • Background music pitch has an effect on overall vigilance performance, with low-pitched music eliciting the best performance. • Red signals exacerbate the vigilance decrement while yellow signals mitigate it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes two novel methods to classify semantic vigilance levels by utilizing EEG directed connectivity patterns with their corresponding graphical network measures. We estimate the directed connectivity using relative wavelet transform entropy (RWTE) and partial directed coherence (PDC) and the graphical network measures by graph theory analysis (GTA) at four frequency bands. The RWTE and PDC quantify the strength and directionality of information flow between EEG nodes. On the other hand, the GTA of the complex network measures summarizes the topological structure of the network. We then evaluate the proposed methods using machine learning classifiers. We carried out an experiment on nine subjects performing semantic vigilance task (Stroop color word test (SCWT)) for approximately 45 minutes. Behaviorally, all subjects demonstrated vigilance decrement as reflected by the significant increase in response time and reduced accuracy. The strength and directionality of information flow in the connectivity network by RWTE/PDC and the GTA measures significantly decrease with vigilance decrement, p

Using a novel gradual onset continuous performance task (gradCPT), recent research has uncovered a brain network of the sustained attention ability, demonstrating marked individual differences. Yet much about the cognitive processes that support performance on the gradCPT remains unknown. Here, we tested the importance of response inhibition and perceptual discrimination in the gradCPT. Participants monitored a continuous stream of natural scenes from two categories—cities and mountains—with a 9:1 ratio. In separate task blocks, they responded either to the frequent or the rare, yielding a response rate of either 90% or 10%. Performance was much worse, and declined more significantly over time, when the required response rate was higher. To test the role of stimulus onset, separate task blocks presented the scenes either gradually, with adjacent scenes blending into each other (gradCPT), or abruptly, with a single scene visible at a time (abruptCPT). Despite its increased complexity, the gradCPT yielded better performance than the abruptCPT, contradicting the perceptual complexity hypothesis and suggesting a detrimental role of the automaticity of responses to rhythmic stimuli in sustained attention. Further bolstering the role of response inhibition in the gradCPT, participants with superior inhibitory function, as assessed by the "stop-signal" task, did better on the gradCPT. These findings show that response inhibition contributes to the ability to sustain attention, especially in tasks that require frequent and repetitive responses as in assembly-line jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selection and effort are central to attention, yet it is unclear whether they draw on a common pool of cognitive resources, and if so, whether there are differences for early versus later stages of cognitive processing. This study assessed effort by quantifying the vigilance decrement, and spatial processing at early and later stages as a function of time‐on‐task. Participants performed an auditory spatial attention task, with occasional "catch" trials requiring no response. Psychophysiological measures included bilateral cerebral blood flow (transcranial Doppler), pupil dilation, and blink rate. The shape of attention gradients using reaction time indexed early processing, and did not significantly vary over time. Later stimulus‐response conflict was comparable over time, except for a reduction to left hemispace stimuli. Target and catch trial accuracy decreased with time, with a more abrupt decrease for catch versus target trials. Diffusion decision modeling found progressive decreases in information accumulation rate and non‐decision time, and the adoption of more liberal response criteria. Cerebral blood flow increased from baseline and then decreased over time, particularly in the left hemisphere. Blink rate steadily increased over time, while pupil dilation increased only at the beginning and then returned towards baseline. The findings suggest dissociations between resources for selectivity and effort. Measures of high subjective effort and temporal declines in catch trial accuracy and cerebral blood flow velocity suggest a standard vigilance decrement was evident in parallel with preserved selection. Different attentional systems and classes of computations that may account for dissociations between selectivity versus effort are discussed. This study probed the relations between auditory attentional selection and effort by examining selectivity of spatial processing at early and later cognitive stages as a function of effort during the vigilance decrement. The results showed dissociations between attentional selection and vigilance effort using behavioral, diffusion decision modeling, and psychophysiological measures. Potential differences in the cognitive computations that underlie selection and effort are discussed as they relate to the observed dissociations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates intra-regional connectivity and regional hemispheric asymmetry under two vigilance states: alertness and vigilance decrement. The vigilance states were induced on nine healthy subjects while performing 30 min in-congruent Stroop color-word task (I-SCWT). We measured brain activity using Electroencephalography (EEG) signals with 64-channels. We quantified the regional network connectivity using the phase-locking value (PLV) with graph theory analysis (GTA) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). Results showed that the vigilance decrement state was associated with impaired information processing within the frontal and central regions in delta and theta frequency bands. Meanwhile, the hemispheric asymmetry results showed that the laterality shifted to the right-temporal in delta, right-central, parietal, and left frontal in theta, right-frontal and left-central, temporal and parietal in alpha, and right-parietal and left temporal in beta frequency bands. These findings represent the first demonstration of intra-regional connectivity and hemispheric asymmetry changes as a function of cognitive vigilance states. The overall results showed that vigilance decrement is region and frequency band-specific. Our SVM model achieved the highest classification accuracy of 99.73% in differentiating between the two vigilance states based on the frontal and central connectivity networks measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has considerably heightened health and financial concerns for many individuals. Similar concerns, such as those associated with poverty, impair performance on cognitive control tasks. If ongoing concerns about COVID-19 substantially increase the tendency to mind wander in tasks requiring sustained attention, these worries could degrade performance on a wide range of tasks, leading, for example, to increased traffic accidents, diminished educational achievement, and lower workplace productivity. In two pre-registered experiments, we investigated the degree to which young adults' concerns about COVID-19 correlated with their ability to sustain attention. Experiment 1 tested mainly European participants during an early phase of the pandemic. After completing a survey probing COVID-related concerns, participants engaged in a continuous performance task (CPT) over two, 4-min blocks, during which they responded to city scenes that occurred 90% of the time and withheld responses to mountain scenes that occurred 10% of the time. Despite large and stable individual differences, performance on the scene CPT did not significantly correlate with the severity of COVID-related concerns obtained from the survey. Experiment 2 tested US participants during a later phase of the pandemic. Once again, CPT performance did not significantly correlate with COVID concerns expressed in a pre-task survey. However, participants who had more task-unrelated thoughts performed more poorly on the CPT. These findings suggest that although COVID-19 increased anxiety in a broad swath of society, young adults are able to hold these concerns in a latent format, minimizing their impact on performance in a demanding sustained attention task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown multiscale entropy, brain signal behavior across time scales, to reliably increase at lower time scales with time-on-task fatigue. However, multiscale entropy has not been examined in short vigilance tasks (i.e., ≤ 10 min). Addressing this gap, we examine multiscale entropy during a 10-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT). Thirty-four participants provided neural data while completing the PVT. We compared the first 2 min of the task to the 7th and 8th minutes to avoid end-spurt effects. Results suggested increased multiscale entropy at lower time scales later compared to earlier in the task, suggesting multiscale entropy is a strong marker of time-on-task fatigue onset during short vigils. Separate analyses for Fast and Slow performers reveal differential entropy patterns, particularly over visual cortices. Here, observed brain-behavior linkage between entropy and reaction time for slow performers suggests that entropy assays over sensory cortices might have predictive value for fatigue onset or shifts from on- to off-task states. • We present novel findings describing differential multiscale entropy changes across time in a brief psychomotor vigilance test. • One brain-behavior linkage, with slow (poorly motivated) performers exhibiting strong positive relationships between reaction times and entropy, together with different entropy patterns than fast (motivated) performers at occipital cortices, suggests entropy assays at this location may be predictive of fatigue onset and/or a shift from on- to off-task states in future work and in computational modeling of fatigue onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustained attention encompasses a cascade of fundamental functions. The human ability to implement a sustained attention task is supported by brain networks that dynamically formed and dissolved through oscillatory synchronization. The decrement of vigilance induced by prolonged task engagement affects sustained attention. However, little is known about which stage or combinations are affected by vigilance decrement. Here, we applied an analysis framework composed of weighted phase lag index (wPLI) and tensor component analysis (TCA) to an EEG dataset collected during 80 min sustained attention task to examine the electrophysiological basis of such effect. We aimed to characterize the phase-coupling networks to untangle different phases involved in sustained attention and study how they are modulated by vigilance decrement. We computed the time–frequency domain wPLI from each block and subject and constructed a fourth-order tensor, containing the time, frequency, functional connectivity (FC), and blocks × subjects. This tensor was subjected to the TCA to identify the interacted and low-dimensional components representing the frequency-specific dynamic FC (fdFC). We extracted four types of neuromakers during a sustained attention task, namely the pre-stimulus alpha right-lateralized parieto-occipital FC, the post-stimulus theta fronto-parieto-occipital FC, delta fronto-parieto-occipital FC, and beta right/left sensorimotor FCs. All these fdFCs were impaired by vigilance decrement. These fdFCs, except for the beta left sensorimotor network, were restored by rewards, although the restoration by reward in the beta right sensorimotor network was transient. These findings provide implications for dissociable effects of vigilance decrement on sustained attention by utilizing the tensor-based framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance on tasks tends to change with time-on-task, usually for the worse. Two seemingly contradictory patterns of behavior are reported for these "vigilance decrements." Over the past 70 years, the more common vigilance decrement involves a decrease in signal detection associated with an increase in response times. In contrast, search tasks such as industrial inspection or X-ray screening produce vigilance decrements that involve a decrease in signal detection associated with a decrease in response times. Subjects respond faster with increasing time-on-task. Three experiments reported here were designed to explain these contrasting performance patterns. The results rule out task-type (search vs. nonsearch detection) and whether trials were paced versus unpaced by the computer as causes of these divergent response-time patterns. Instead, response structure—how subjects respond to the presence and absence of the critical signal—is the primary cause of this phenomenon. These results do not support traditional resource-depletion or under-stimulation theories of the vigilance decrement. Instead, I propose a dynamic-allocation resource theory in which the attention system uses various tactics to strategically disengage from tasks that provide low payoff across time-on-task. Public Significance Statement: Vigilance tasks are pervasive across many areas of modern society, including aviation security, medical screening, industrial inspection, and multiple military applications. This study highlights the potential diversity in both the types of vigilance tasks that exist and the patterns of behavioral responses that operators may exhibit when exposed to long shifts at these tasks. Understanding how the structure of the task influences the type of performance deficits incurred is critical for developing strategies for mitigating these potential deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We investigated a driver monitoring system (DMS) designed to adaptively back up distracted drivers with automated driving.Background: Humans are likely inadequate for supervising today's on-road driving automation. Conversely, backup concepts can use eye-tracker DMS to retain the human as the primary driver and use computerized control only if needed. A distraction DMS where perceived false alarms are minimized and the status of the backup is unannounced might reduce problems of distrust and overreliance, respectively. Experimental research is needed to assess the viability of such designs.Methods: In a driving simulator, 91 participants either supervised driving automation (auto-hand-on-wheel vs. auto-hands-off-wheel), drove with different forms of DMS-induced backup control (eyes-only-backup vs. eyes-plus-context-backup; visible-backup vs. invisible-backup), or drove without any automation. All participants performed a visual N-back task throughout.Results: Supervised driving automation increased visual distraction and hazard non-responses compared to backup and conventional driving. Auto-hand-on-wheel improved response generation compared to auto-hands-off-wheel. Across entire driving trials, the backup improved lateral performance compared to conventional driving. Without negatively impacting safety, the eyes-plus-context-backup DMS reduced unnecessary automated control compared to the eyes-only-backup DMS conditions. Eyes-only-backup produced low satisfaction ratings, whereas eyes-plus-context-backup satisfaction was on par with automated driving. There were no appreciable negative consequences attributable to the invisible-backup driving automation.Conclusions: We have demonstrated preliminary feasibility of DMS designs that incorporate driving context information for distraction assessment and suppress their status indication.Application: An appropriately designed DMS can enable benefits for automated driving as a backup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tasks which require sustained attention over a lengthy period of time have been a focal point of cognitive fatigue research for decades, with these tasks including air traffic control, watchkeeping, baggage inspection, and many others. Recent research into physiological markers of mental fatigue indicate that markers exist which extend across all individuals and all types of vigilance tasks. This suggests that it would be possible to build an EEG model which detects these markers and the subsequent vigilance decrement in any task (i.e., a task-generic model) and in any person (i.e., a cross-participant model). However, thus far, no task-generic EEG cross-participant model has been built or tested. In this research, we explored creation and application of a task-generic EEG cross-participant model for detection of the vigilance decrement in an unseen task and unseen individuals. We utilized three different models to investigate this capability: a multi-layer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) which employed spectral features extracted from the five traditional EEG frequency bands, a temporal convolutional network (TCN), and a TCN autoencoder (TCN-AE), with these two TCN models being time-domain based, i.e., using raw EEG time-series voltage values. The MLPNN and TCN models both achieved accuracy greater than random chance (50%), with the MLPNN performing best with a 7-fold CV balanced accuracy of 64% (95% CI: 0.59, 0.69) and validation accuracies greater than random chance for 9 of the 14 participants. This finding demonstrates that it is possible to classify a vigilance decrement using EEG, even with EEG from an unseen individual and unseen task.

[Display omitted] • Neural signatures exhibit non-monotonic patterns in vigilance discrimination tasks. • Beyond the end-spurt, non-monotonic patterns suggest pacing occurs across a vigil. • Pacing effects emerged most frequently in anterior ERPs linked to central cognition. • Understanding neural behavior can inform predictive modeling of vigilance performance. The end-spurt effect, where performance declines with time-on-task and then increases toward the end of a task, has garnered little attention in the vigilance literature. Researchers have suggested the performance enhancement is due to increased motivation or arousal with knowledge of the end of the vigil. However, recent examination of neural signature patterns during a simultaneous discrimination task, where task length was unknown, provided preliminary support that the end-spurt reflects pacing of resources. The current effort expands this previous work to an additional simultaneous task and to a successive discrimination task across two sessions, one where task length was not known and one where task length was known. Twenty-eight (Study 1) and a separate 24 (Study 2) participants completed a Simultaneous Radar task (Study 1) in one session and Simultaneous and Successive Lines tasks (Study 2) across two sessions while neural data was collected. Several event-related potentials exhibited non-monotonic patterns during the vigilance tasks, in some cases reflecting end-spurt patterns, but more commonly reflecting higher-order polynomial patterns. These patterns were more prevalent in anterior regions as opposed to posterior regions. Of note, the N1 anterior exhibited consistent general patterns across all the vigilance tasks and across sessions. Importantly, even when participants had knowledge of session length, some ERPs still exhibited higher-order polynomial trends, suggesting pacing rather than an end-spurt from motivation or arousal as the vigil ends. These insights can help inform predictive modeling of vigilance performance and the implementation of mitigation efforts to allay the vigilance decrement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vigilance decrement in sustained attention tasks is a prevalent example of cognitive fatigue in the literature. A critical challenge for current theories is to account for differences in the magnitude of the vigilance decrement across tasks that involve memory (successive tasks) and those that do not (simultaneous tasks). The empirical results described in this paper examine this issue by comparing performance, including eye movement data, between successive and simultaneous tasks that require multiple fixations to encode the stimulus for each trial. The findings show that differences in the magnitude of the vigilance decrement between successive and simultaneous tasks were observed only when a response deadline was imposed in the analysis of reaction times. This suggests that memory requirements did not exacerbate the deleterious impacts of time on task on the ability to accurately identify the critical stimuli. At the same time, eye tracking data collected during the study provided evidence for disruptions in cognitive processing that manifested as increased delays between fixations on stimulus elements and between encoding the second stimulus element and responding. These delays were particularly pronounced in later stages of encoding and responding. The similarity of the findings for both tasks suggests that the vigilance decrement may arise from common mechanisms in both cases. Differences in the magnitude of the decrement arise as a function of how degraded cognitive processing interacts with differences in the information processing requirements and other task characteristics. The findings are consistent with recent accounts of the vigilance decrement, which integrate features of prior theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive fatigue emerges in wide-ranging tasks and domains, but traditional vigilance tasks provide a well-studied context in which to explore the mechanisms underlying it. Though a variety of experimental methodologies have been used to investigate cognitive fatigue in vigilance, relatively little research has utilized electroencephalography (EEG), specifically event-related potentials (ERPs), to explore the nature of cognitive fatigue, also known as the vigilance decrement. Moreover, much of the research that has been done on vigilance and ERPs uses non-traditional vigilance paradigms, limiting generalizability to the established body of behavioral results and corresponding theories. In this study, we address concerns with prior research by (1) investigating the vigilance decrement using a well-established visual vigilance task, (2) utilizing a task designed to attenuate possible confounding ERP components present within a vigilance paradigm, and (3) informing our interpretations with recent findings from ERP research. We averaged data across electrodes located over the frontal, central, and parietal scalp. Then, we generated waveforms locked to the onset of critical low-frequency or non-critical high-frequency events during a 40 min task that was segregated into time blocks for data analysis. There were three primary findings from the analyses of these data. First, mean amplitude of N1 was greater during later blocks for both low-frequency and high-frequency events, a contradictory finding compared to past visual vigilance studies that is further discussed with respect to current interpretations of the N1 in visual attention tasks. Second, P3b mean amplitude following low-frequency events was reduced during later blocks, with a later onset latency. Third and finally, the decrease in P3b amplitude correlated with individual differences in the magnitude of the vigilance decrement, assessed using d′. The results provide evidence for degradations of cognitive processing efficiency brought on by extended time on task, leading to delayed processing and decreased discriminability of critical stimuli from non-critical stimuli. These conclusions are discussed in the context of the vigilance decrement and corresponding theoretical accounts.

The vigilance decrement in sustained attention tasks is a prevalent example of cognitive fatigue in the literature. A critical challenge for current theories is to account for differences in the magnitude of the vigilance decrement across tasks that involve memory (successive tasks) and those that do not (simultaneous tasks). The empirical results described in this paper examine this issue by comparing performance, including eye movement data, between successive and simultaneous tasks that require multiple fixations to encode the stimulus for each trial. The findings show that differences in the magnitude of the vigilance decrement between successive and simultaneous tasks were observed only when a response deadline was imposed in the analysis of reaction times. This suggests that memory requirements did not exacerbate the deleterious impacts of time on task on the ability to accurately identify the critical stimuli. At the same time, eye tracking data collected during the study provided evidence for disruptions in cognitive processing that manifested as increased delays between fixations on stimulus elements and between encoding the second stimulus element and responding. These delays were particularly pronounced in later stages of encoding and responding. The similarity of the findings for both tasks suggests that the vigilance decrement may arise from common mechanisms in both cases. Differences in the magnitude of the decrement arise as a function of how degraded cognitive processing interacts with differences in the information processing requirements and other task characteristics. The findings are consistent with recent accounts of the vigilance decrement, which integrate features of prior theoretical perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Vigilance is generally understood as the ability to detect infrequent critical events through long time periods. In tasks like the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), participants tend to detect fewer events across time, a phenomenon known as “vigilance decrement”. However, vigilance might also involve sustaining a tonic arousal level. In the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), the vigilance decrement corresponds to an increment across time in both mean and variability of reaction time. New Method The present study aimed to develop a single task –Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance – executive and arousal components (ANTI-Vea)– to simultaneously assess both components of vigilance (i.e., the executive vigilance as in the SART, and the arousal vigilance as in the PVT), while measuring the classic attentional functions (phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control). Results In Experiment #1, the executive vigilance decrement was found as an increment in response bias. In Experiment #2, this result was replicated, and the arousal vigilance decrement was simultaneously observed as an increment in reaction time. Comparison with Existing Method The ANTI-Vea solves some issues observed in the previous ANTI-V task with the executive vigilance measure (e.g., a low hit rate and no vigilance decrement). Furthermore, the new ANTI-Vea task assesses both components of vigilance together with others typical attentional functions. Conclusions The new attentional networks test developed here may be useful to provide a better understanding of the human attentional system. The role of sensitivity and response bias in the executive vigilance decrement are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive fatigue emerges in wide-ranging tasks and domains, but traditional vigilance tasks provide a well-studied context in which to explore the mechanisms underlying it. Though a variety of experimental methodologies have been used to investigate cognitive fatigue in vigilance, relatively little research has utilized electroencephalography (EEG), specifically event-related potentials (ERPs), to explore the nature of cognitive fatigue, also known as the vigilance decrement. Moreover, much of the research that has been done on vigilance and ERPs uses non-traditional vigilance paradigms, limiting generalizability to the established body of behavioral results and corresponding theories. In this study, we address concerns with prior research by (1) investigating the vigilance decrement using a well-established visual vigilance task, (2) utilizing a task designed to attenuate possible confounding ERP components present within a vigilance paradigm, and (3) informing our interpretations with recent findings from ERP research. We averaged data across electrodes located over the frontal, central, and parietal scalp. Then, we generated waveforms locked to the onset of critical low-frequency or non-critical high-frequency events during a 40 min task that was segregated into time blocks for data analysis. There were three primary findings from the analyses of these data. First, mean amplitude of N1 was greater during later blocks for both low-frequency and high-frequency events, a contradictory finding compared to past visual vigilance studies that is further discussed with respect to current interpretations of the N1 in visual attention tasks. Second, P3b mean amplitude following low-frequency events was reduced during later blocks, with a later onset latency. Third and finally, the decrease in P3b amplitude correlated with individual differences in the magnitude of the vigilance decrement, assessed using d ′. The results provide evidence for degradations of cognitive processing efficiency brought on by extended time on task, leading to delayed processing and decreased discriminability of critical stimuli from non-critical stimuli. These conclusions are discussed in the context of the vigilance decrement and corresponding theoretical accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Veksler and Gunzelmann (2017) make an extraordinary claim, which is that sleep deprivation effects and the vigilance decrement are functionally equivalent. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, which is missing from Veksler and Gunzelmann's study. Their behavioral data offer only weak theoretical constraint, and to the extent their modeling exercise supports any position, it is that these two performance impairments involve functionally distinct underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current review discusses the untouched issues in the development of taxonomic systems for describing human vigil tasks and performances. According to Donlad (2008), the ability to generalize vigilance research to operational environments has been questioned, largely due to differences between laboratory research and real-world settings. Although Parasuraman and Davies (1977) attempt to classify vigilance tasks on the basis of task characteristics such as modality, signal conspicuity, event rate, type of task, complexity etc. and information processing demands. At large number of factors still remains overlooked in much of the traditional vigilance literature. Further, Donlad (2008) includes additional relevant aspects in current taxonomy i.e. complexity, homogeneity and heterogeneity, empty background etc. However, most of the experimental evidences for today are in the favor of Parasuraman and Davies1 Taxonomy's (PVT) thus I consider also some contrary evidences in current review. The focus of researchers on vigilance has led to neglect of other components of the person's 'state of mind' which may influence performance and the ability to generalize results enhanced. In current review, the taxonomy is evaluated in the perspective of individual's transitory state of mind which is psychometrically distinct from other factors. Furthermore, current review examines the strengths and weaknesses of the pre-established taxonomy. Lastly, I conclude with Parasuraman and Davies' Taxonomy's (PVT) links to neuroscience and possible future directions which makes provision for the cognitive processes involved in applied aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music sometimes improves performance in sustained attention tasks. But the type of music employed in previous investigations has varied considerably, which can account for equivocal results. Progress has been hampered by lack of a systematic database of music varying in key characteristics like tempo and valence. The aims of this study were to establish a database of popular music varying along the dimensions of tempo and valence and to examine the impact of music varying along these dimensions on restoring attentional resources following performance of a sustained attention to response task (SART) vigil. Sixty-nine participants rated popular musical selections that varied in valence and tempo to establish a database of four musical types: fast tempo positive valence, fast tempo negative valence, slow tempo positive valence, and slow tempo negative valence. A second group of 89 participants performed two blocks of the SART task interspersed with either no break or a rest break consisting of 1 of the 4 types of music or silence. Presenting positive valence music (particularly of slow tempo) during an intermission between two successive blocks of the SART significantly decreased miss rates relative to negative valence music or silence. Results support an attentional restoration theory of the impact of music on sustained attention, rather than arousal theory and demonstrate a means of restoring sustained attention. Further, the results establish the validity of a music database that will facilitate further investigations of the impact of music on performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first comprehensive review on vigilance enhancement using both conventional and unconventional means, and further discusses the resulting contradictory findings. It highlights the key differences observed between the research findings and argues that variations of the experimental protocol could be a significant contributing factor towards such contradictory results. Furthermore, the paper reveals the effectiveness of unconventional means of enhancement in significant reduction of vigilance decrement compared to conventional means. Meanwhile, a discussion on the challenges of enhancement techniques is presented, with several suggested recommendations and alternative strategies to maintain an adequate level of vigilance for the task at hand. Additionally, this review provides evidence in support of the use of unconventional means of enhancement on vigilance studies, regardless of their practical challenges.