The effects of sleep deprivation on vigilance and neural activation during the Sustained Attention to Response Task

The effects of sleep deprivation on vigilance and neural activation during the Sustained Attention to Response TaskIntroduction: Sleep deprivation is common and can result in impaired vigilance with fatal consequences, but little is known about effects of sleep deprivation on neural activation. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), neural activation associated with an attention-demanding task such as the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) can be visualized and analyzed. This is one of the first studies combining SART with fMRI to study total sleep deprivation. Aims: This study aimed to determine how sleep deprivation affects vigilance and neural activation during the SART. Primary outcomes are the number of errors committed during the SART and fMRI activity associated to the SART task. Material and Methods: This cross-over study compares sleep deprivation and full sleep. 9 healthy participants (6 males and 3 females) with normal sleep patterns were included. Participants were randomized to undergo both conditions in counterbalanced order and were planned for a total of three different MRI sessions and two SART evaluations. Results: No SART results were statistically significant, however there was a tendency of increased error percentage in the sleep deprived condition. There was no strong tendency of longer response times in sleep deprived condition. Clusters of neural activation were observed in areas associated with the executive network. However, none were statistically significant. Conclusions: This study suggests that SART performance regarding accuracy may be affected by sleep deprivation; however response times are not. No significant effect of sleep deprivation on neural activation was found, however indications of areas related to vigilance were located in expected areas.